“I was a recovering alcohol and drug addict, and I was on the verge of being homeless. Just quit doing what I was doing and changed my circle of friends. When I started working here I was looking at the guests like ‘that could have been me,’ if I hadn’t changed my ways, and that really inspired me to help them more and almost get the feeling of them, what they’re going through and their struggles.”
“It was 1999 when I started. I started working custodial work and then 3 years later, the kitchen manager moved, and so they asked me if I’d like to take over the kitchen. I said ‘sure’ and I’ve been doing it ever since. 19 years later.”
“When I got divorced and I started staying with my mom, [my wife] knew what I was doing and she didn’t want any part of that, drugging and alcoholism. That was my rock bottom. Staying with other people. That wasn’t me. When I started working here, it was like the Lord just said, ‘It’s time for a change. Look at the man in the mirror.'”
“When I worked here, I was still doing what I was doing but then a year later, I was looking at the people coming through these doors, looking at them struggling, and I was like, ‘I got to change my ways.’ It was just a calling for me. I had to get my license back because I got a DUI. I was listening to other people’s stories. One guy had almost killed himself in a car accident by him drinking and driving. All of that stuck in my head. I had to be clean for those 16 weeks. After I finished that, I was like, ‘Hey, I can do without it.’ Like I said, I changed my circle of friends and got around positive people. And that really changed my life. It was a struggle, but hey, I did it.”
“I know a lot of guys that come in here and are doing really well now just because of this place. It reminds me of myself, what I was going through. I was telling them, ‘Look man, I’ve been there and done that, and you can come out of it. It’s really nothing good about that. You always broke, you don’t have money because you’re spending it all on drugs and alcohol. Be somebody, not just a statistic.’ I look to be as a role model to them. I don’t steer them in the wrong direction, I try to tell them positive things from what I’ve been through and stuff.”
