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“When I found Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission, things really started changing for me.”

George remembers when using drugs as a teen was initially a way to pass time. It felt harmless at first. But it quickly escalated. George shares, “Towards the end of high school, I started getting into smoking pot and drinking. Eventually, I fell into a meth addiction with a friend.”

Shortly after, George made a decision he would much later regret. “Dropping out of high school was one of the worth things I could’ve done because from then on, I never felt good enough.”

The substance use that started as a way to pass time and fit in with peers worsened as the years went by. Sadly, George’s struggle with meth and alcoholism carried on for two more decades.

Eventually, a deepening dependence on drugs created a sense of shame and emptiness that no high could ever satisfy.

“There was something missing in my life,” George recalls. “Meth has a way of making you feel like you can do a lot. But you’re only falling apart, and you don’t realize it until it’s too late.”

Turning point

At age 30, George reached a turning point when he entered a faith-based recovery program for the first time and accepted the Lord. “To this day, I do believe that saved my life. But I still continued to struggle well into my 30’s,” admits George.

From then on, George was in and out of different recovery programs, always looking for an approach that would work. “I went through 13 programs over 13 years. Nothing worked. But when I found Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission, things really started changing for me.”

“I have support and others holding me accountable for the rest of my life.”

At the Mission, George came to a breakthrough moment when he realized his addiction was rooted in lack of healthy relationships. He didn’t have any long-term, trusted friendships in his life.

George began recognizing his cyclical pattern of getting clean, isolating himself, and then relapsing again. “I’ve come to understand that I can’t do it on my own,” Geroge reflects. “I have support and others holding me accountable for the rest of my life.”

Along with accountability and relational support, George is leaning into the power of surrender. “I feel confident going forward that things are going to get better as long as I continue to trust God.”

Almost two year sober, George feels amazed at how far he’s come. “This is the longest I’ve been clean and sober since I was 10. The Mission’s been the best thing that’s happened in my life. I’m so grateful to be here.”

George found the loving support he needed to maintain sobriety for the long-term. Your partnership today will give hope for life change to more of our neighbors.