Marc
When Marc was 13, he discovered a love of alcohol. By the time he was 21, he was a full-blown alcoholic and his family kicked him out of their home. He was a high functioning alcoholic, so he was able to keep a job and even get married. However, after falling from a ladder at a work-site, he started to suffer from chronic pain. Naturally, he used alcohol and pain killers to help manage the pain. He stopped caring about being high-functioning and just spiraled into a self-destructive lifestyle that led to his family completely abandoning him.
After his wife left him, Marc began sleeping on the streets. He was a frequent visitor at the local emergency room and often got arrested for disorderly conduct. Even in this state, Marc states “I am such a proud person, that I would never have asked for help! If it hadn’t been for someone approaching me on the streets, I don’t think I would ever have sought out Union Station Homeless Services.”
Their staff quickly housed him in keeping with their "housing first policy". Once in his own place, Marc began focusing on his health and mental health issues. He also began substance abuse counseling. Union Station staff then helped Marc get his own home and has been housed since 2015. He’s had no emergency room visits or arrests since moving into his apartment. But what he does have is peace of mind, friends and community, and hope for the future. He has also recently started to repair his relationship with family. “It won’t be easy but I owe it to them to try to help them heal from the years of pain that I caused them.”
Also in Meet Our Brothers-in-need
Charlie
John
Angry and feeling inadequate, John’s early bad judgments and bouts with drugs and alcohol found him at age 33 living in his car.
