Ishmael is counting his blessings this fall.
“The Mission gave me a second chance at life”
When Ishmael was growing up, his family moved around a lot. His childhood was marked by a constant sense of upheaval. “I struggled to form strong friendships,” he recalls. “I would make a close friend and then end up having to leave soon after.”
The hardest adjustment was after the family moved to Nevada, when Ishmael had to leave a core group of friends. “I got really upset with my mom about it, and that’s when I started having some issues.”
The mental load of constantly feeling uprooted became too much, and Ishmael turned to substance abuse. “I was using to cope with life and to feel better, but in reality, it was only making things worse,” he says.
What followed were years of getting in trouble with the law and experiencing homelessness. “Because it was close to winter and I didn’t have anywhere to live, I would go in and out of the casinos to try to stay warm.”
He realized how serious things were when he was kicked out of a casino for searching through the trash for something to eat. “It made me realize my life was not going as planned.”
Ishmael ended up in mental health court, and his case manager told him about the Mission. At the encouragement of his mom, he decided to go.
The day he walked into the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission, everything changed for Ishmael.
“It felt good knowing that I was making the right decision, making the decision to change,” he says.
“I feel closer to God now than I ever have in my life at this point.”
Ishmael stays busy at the Mission working in the kitchen, helping with the dinner service. He is currently taking a culinary course and hopes to get a job after graduating from the Mission. “I want to be able to help my family as much as I can.”
Ishmael says he appreciates the chance to recuperate and continue to grow in his Christian walk. “The Mission is setting me up to succeed by giving me the tools I need to not only stay sober, but to become a true servant of God.”
Because of you, Ishmael is experiencing Thanksgiving in a whole new way this year… with a fresh perspective on life and heart of gratitude. “The Mission gave me a second chance at life and with the Lord.”
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