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Craig, age 55, spent 34 years in active addiction before finding hope and recovery at Helping Up Mission (HUM).

“I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas,” Craig said. “I didn’t have a father who was present, so I was raised on my mother’s side of the family, where mental health struggles and alcoholism were part of daily life. That was traumatizing to witness. I never stayed with the same family member for long because of my own behavioral problems, mental health and addictive personality. I was 19 when I found marijuana, and by 27 I’d discovered harder drugs that took me to a dark place. That’s where the real decline started.”

“My aunt wanted me to come to Washington state, thinking the change of scenery would help. I liked it there, but I found drugs there too. Eventually my family moved to Florida, and I made that move as well. No matter where I landed, I kept finding my way back to using.”

“My aunt got me into Centerstone, a detox program in Bradenton. I got 28 days clean, went back out, and three months later I was back, and that’s when they told me about Helping Up Mission. Honestly, I didn’t understand what holistic healing meant, but Ramon, HUM’s Director of Program Development, came down, and his energy convinced me to give it a try. I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“I walked into HUM on Christmas Eve. I remember surrendering that first week. I knew I didn’t have a choice anymore, so I had to make it. It was rough at first, getting used to the bustling campus of 500 men. But there would be peaceful times too, and I think God got me through that.”

“I got to experience things I never had. I did trauma therapy, went to Credo spiritual retreat and joined Celebrate Recovery, where they combine the steps with faith. My sponsor, Bill C., taught me to put my recovery before everything else, before relationships, before money, before anger. I committed to that. I got to experience equine therapy, camp overnight and see fireflies for the first time in decades.”

“This is the first year since I was 19 that I hadn’t gotten high. And this time, I made that happen myself, with a clear head, with nobody else deciding it for me. That’s when I really understood what hope felt like.”

“I have 20 months of sobriety now. I got my driver’s license back after 17 years and now I am working as a delivery driver. I love to draw. I’ve got ideas for a whole line of superhero comics, and someday I want to be signing autographs at Comic Con.”

“After 34 years of addiction, there was no hope for me until I got to Helping Up Mission. I want to thank the donors who make that hope and my recovery possible.”

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