Carlos

Hello. Carlos here. Before the Boston Rescue Mission, I had nowhere to go and didn’t know what to do next. Here, little by little, my life is falling into place.

Growing up poor in the south Bronx, I felt like a simple child with simple needs and a big family, so I was always happy. After growing up and getting married, we moved to Worcester and I worked with a few nonprofits. While working in weatherizing homes, I gained experience working with tools and eventually got into construction. On the weekends, I started drinking and hanging out with the guys. After awhile, I neglected my house and family. The bills piled up, I lost track of many things, and ended up separating with my wife.

These events actually drew me closer to my parents and their retreat center for ministry in western Massachusetts. I helped fix up those grounds and lived there for awhile until issues with my brother’s family caused enough friction that I couldn’t stay. After leaving, my drinking got worse, and I went in and out of jail for a lot of stupid things. Nothing too serious happened, but I was on probation for many years afterward.

At one point, arthritis caused me a lot of hip pain, and doctors had trouble finding the cause. Because nobody could diagnose a problem, I began self-medicating with heroin. Naturally, that led to addiction, which made getting hip replacements much harder. After finally getting operations on both hips, I drank a lot, and became homeless for about a year. Near Christmastime, I finally had enough. I checked myself into a hospital and went to a detox. I completed an initial recovery program, and then the Mission offered me a place to stay.

What a blessing it is to be here! The staff is helpful, my peers are wonderful, good people. We all have challenges, but everyone tries, and a great support system helps us out. I’ve been making good choices, working on housing, fixing my credit, and getting my life back together. It takes some time, but God has me here for a reason, and I keep giving God thanks.