“I Can Picture a Future for Myself”

“I Was 110 Pounds and Completely Lost.”

Kyle is one of those guys most people would never imagine falling into addiction and homelessness. He was raised in a Christian home. He graduated from high school with honors. And he was cruising through college, just a semester shy of his bachelor’s degree. Then the wheels started coming off.

His downfall began with pain pills he was prescribed for a back injury. By the time his prescriptions ran out Kyle was craving the pills, so he began buying them on the street. When he could no longer afford that, he switched to heroin, which is much cheaper.

Throughout his eight-year addiction, Kyle dropped out of school, lost his job painting cars, and found himself living on the streets. He tried a number of different short-term programs, but nothing worked. Feeling more hopeless with each passing day, Kyle reached the point of giving up.

“I didn’t have any money, nowhere to go,” Kyle says. “I was pretty much throwing in the towel.”

Kyle was taken to a five-day detox center, and the folks there connected him with the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission. At first, Kyle was a bit reluctant, not wanting to dedicate an entire year to his sobriety. But now, 10 months into our recovery program, he can’t imagine not being here.

“When I came to the Mission, I was 110 pounds and completely lost,” Kyle says. “I didn’t want to live anymore. But since I’ve been here, I’ve found hope. This is the first time in 10 years I’ve had more than 30 days of sobriety. And I can picture a future for myself that’s not only just surviving, but thriving.

“I’m extremely grateful for people who support the Mission, and for the chance to enter this program, change my life, and build a relationship with God.”

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