Twenty-five years ago, I was homeless, addicted to crack cocaine and about to finish my time at a short-term rehab facility. I knew I couldn’t go back home to Chicago.
I was born in Peru and adopted here when I was very young. After what seemed like a normal childhood, I struggled with alcohol in my late teens. I dropped
When I came to Rockford Rescue Mission from Minnesota, I was not a happy person. Ask any of the staff or the other residents. I was angry at the world.
I’ve spent most of my adult life helping other people see better. Today, I have a clearer view of my own life than ever before. That’s thanks to God, through
“Sir, have you been drinking?” Earlier that night, I sure had been. Now it was 12:30 a.m. and snowing. I had driven past my house and pulled into the parking
Recently I received a letter from a friend—someone who worked at the Mission’s old Madison Street site back in the 1970s and ‘80s. Today he pastors a small church in
In a jail cell and withdrawing from heroin, I was already on my knees with sickness. I prayed: Please, God. I don’t want to live like this. Help me find
If it wasn’t for Rockford Rescue Mission, I would probably be in prison today. Or worse. I was there not long ago, doing 15 months for repeated DUIs. I struggled
As we planned our current issue of The Rescuer newsletter, we received awful news. A young man who went through our Life Recovery Program a few years ago died from
If you were to look up the term “rule breaker” in the dictionary, you’d probably find my picture. After I came to Rockford Rescue Mission, I printed all of the