“I Feel Like A New Creation” Tony was one of six children raised by his single mother and his grandmother. He didn’t have a lot of supervision growing up and was often left to fend for himself – so he

“Patience Paved a New Life” My parent’s divorced when I was young. My father was present in my life, but he was not a positive role model. The lifestyle he lived was filled with drugs, alcohol, and women. I was introduced

“For the First Time, I’ve Found True Inner Peace” Sherrie curled up on her cardboard mat to sleep. She didn’t know how much longer she could live like this, experiencing homelessness, squatting under an abandoned house. But she didn’t know

“Now I am set free and a new creation” Kenny grew up with a father he could never please. His dad would frequently beat him for doing something wrong, but wasn’t interested in teaching his son the right way to

“Seeing Myself Clearly” I struggled with addiction since I was 8 or 9 years old. My grandmother, who was a bootlegger, raised me so I was in the house with alcohol as long as I can remember. I started sneaking

“A Better Man” I was bound to be addicted to something, even from an early age. I grew up in a dysfunctional household, even though it was a loving home. After arriving in Jacksonville in 1987, I was living a

“No More Anger” My struggle with drugs and alcohol has always been connected to anger. As a child, I was angry at my mother for returning to an abusive relationship. As a teenager, that anger led me to a life

“Back to Being Me” I started drinking at the age of 14. After 2 failed marriages, I was a raging alcoholic and I had experimented with powdered cocaine and acid. As my addictions progressed, crack cocaine took a hold of

“From a Dark Place” Before coming to City Rescue Mission, I was in a very dark place. I had been in a dark place since I was 15 years old. By that time, I had already been in many abusive

“The Time to Change” Lost and tired, Juanita knew she desperately needed a change to save her life. Juanita now has a life that she didn’t think was possible before she entered City Rescue Mission’s LifeBuilders program in 2007. Nearly