Roberto

Hello, I’m Roberto. There’s a lot of help available from a good group of people at the Mission. I’m trying to get as much help as I can. It’s good to balance making room for myself and working with others. I used to be so absorbed with myself!

In my youth, I spent a lot of fantastic summers with my grandfather in the Dominican Republic where I was the center of his attention. The rest of the year at home, I was just as likely to get a punch in the head. Summer school seemed like a good idea so I could graduate earlier, but I ended up dropping out of 10th grade anyway. I went to work in restaurants and partied a little bit. The signs of bigger trouble came at 18. After smoking weed, I got into Quaaludes, then coke, then black beauties and alcohol. If there was a phase, I seemed to go through it.

In the 80s, I partied hard. I got married, had a son, and started smoking crack. I was functional for a little while. Then I missed work for a day or two, then a week, then a month. Over the toughest years I’ve been shot, pistol-whipped, stabbed, hit by a truck, and had several surgeries. And spent a fair amount of time in jail. It’s there that I got sick and tired, and made plans to heal.

I checked into detox and found the Boston Rescue Mission. Here, residents and staff members are generous with their time. I’m signed up for housing, getting vision and dental care, getting some good rest, working on emotional awareness and regaining trust from others. If you know somebody who needs help, this is the place to go.