Rafael's Story - A Beautiful Story of Restoration and Hope | Stories from Skid Row

This month I wanted to share Rafael's story. From recovering from meth addiction, getting his children back to graduating from our Christian Life Discipleship Program, and becoming a valued volunteer. Watch Rafael's Restoration story.

"I volunteer here in the Mission on the fourth floor, helping them with whatever they need. I'm trying to give back for what the URM did for me. I had a 10-year addiction to meth, so that played a role. We lost our home, and then we, my wife and my four kids, we were homeless on the streets. It was scary, you know, not knowing where we were going to lay our heads, and it'll be super cold at night. Sometimes we'd huddle up, and just like penguins, do you know when it's colder, they get together to warm up? After checking in to URM, the situation worsened when I drug-tested positive for meth. DCFS took the four kids from our custody. It was the worst day of my life. I felt like a failure. I felt a life where my kids were gone took away my reason to live. What motivated me to stay, not use drugs and finish the program was getting my kids back." 

We are getting more and more dads with kids. The other night, we had as many as nine dads with kids. Men have lost their wives to death, and we also have wives who are addicted to drugs and have left behind their families, and deserted the family, which is somewhat new in our culture. But it has happened throughout time but not to the level it's happening right now. We're trying to adapt to our contemporary world and meet the needs of our neighbors. 

Our God-centered spiritual approach is both important and essential for the life change that we see in people like Rafael. It's the story that almost every one of our graduates who succeeds shares. Before they came to Union Rescue Mission, they hadn't really given God a second thought and now God is an instrumental part of their lives and their recovery, and their future.

We could not do this life-changing work without you! Thank You!

Видео Rafael's Story - A Beautiful Story of Restoration and Hope | Stories from Skid Row канала Union Rescue Mission