Nine years ago, we met Adam through his long-time partner, Jill. Jill had called the crisis line in search of a safe place to stay—a place to keep their three children safe.
Throughout the years his partner and children have attended HOPE support groups, but Adam has never been ready—or willing—to change. He would move back in with Jill after making promises to quit drinking and then pick up the bottle. Things would fall apart and he would become violent.
Adam’s drinking is a way of coping with low self-esteem and hopelessness. He has a learning disability and never learned to read, which has made it difficult to find employment. He has been in and out of homeless shelters his entire life. His mother died when his was little, and his father abandoned him at a Greyhound bus station when he was a teenager.
Six months ago, Adam, now 46, was taken to jail on another domestic assault charge. While in jail, he got news that his alcoholism was taking away more than his family—it was taking his life. He was diagnosed with late-stage liver disease. It was a wake-up call for Adam. “I realized that without help, I was never going to stop drinking. And if I didn't stop, I was going to lose my family for good—or lose my life to this addiction and never see my kids again. The looks on their faces made me want to change.”
While in jail, Adam sought help. His dream is to reunite his family and repair broken relationships. Adam took advantage of all of the self-help programs that the jail offered. He regularly attended Alcoholics Anonymous and HOPE’s group on Release Planning. He was released from jail in March and has been clean and sober since.
Within a week of being released, Adam moved into an apartment—the very first apartment that has even been “his.” He has a network of supportive adults helping him on the road to success—five agencies, including HOPE, partnered to help Adam on his road to recovery.
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