Thanks to your unwavering support, the Mission guides individuals through the tumultuous journey of overcoming chemical addiction.
Even though Josh’s grandmother, Hellen, died when he was 13, her devotion to Jesus has continued to impact him. Because of the example of her powerful faith, Josh never doubted that God was real and involved in his life.
Nevertheless, Josh responded to life’s injustices by lashing out at others. By the time he was 21, he was unemployed, spending each day playing video games and getting high.
When his unresolved anger caused Josh to physically attack his stepfather and, later, his mother, they kicked him out of their house.
Josh was homeless. He stayed with various relatives and spent weeks in a psych ward. The doctors put him on three medications, but they were not solving Josh’s root issues, and he continued to get high.
Josh enrolled when his birth father recommended Frederick Rescue Mission’s Changed Life Recovery Program (CLRP). However, a verbal altercation with another resident led to his expulsion from the program. “The Mission was the right place, but the wrong time. This place was a refuge, providing rest and peace, but I was not in the right place mentally.”
Josh moved to a halfway house and then returned to the psych ward. “I felt like the world was out to get me. I didn’t feel wanted or accepted.” Josh’s next stop was a recovery program in Baltimore County, which helped him decrease his dependency on drugs but did not bring him the spiritual peace he longed for.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit …”
Josh longed to experience the profound faith of his grandmother, and he returned to the Mission a broken man. He has been here two months and has already experienced a fundamental change in his mind and heart. “I stopped caring about what others think, and I stepped out in faith. I am now in the state of mind to embrace Jesus.”
Josh works faithfully in the Mission’s kitchen. The CLRP Case Manager Jake Sexton says, “Josh is somebody who cares. That’s evident by how he works in the program and how hard he works in the kitchen. He has to face the things that have made him angry, and he’s facing his issues.”
You provide a place for Josh and men like him to heal chemically and spiritually.
