Aaron’s Story of Transformation

Aaron’s Life Before the Mission

Before coming to the Mission, Aaron says his life was “a mess.” He was living on the streets. He was struggling with addiction. He wasn’t eating enough. His mental health was at its worst. “I was like, when’s this going to end?” he remembers. “I couldn’t stop it. I would still get drunk and sit and have conversations with people that weren’t there.”

The Chaotic Childhood

Adopted as a baby, Aaron’s parents divorced when he was seven. That’s when instability became the only constant in his life. “I lived with my adopting dad for a year. And then I moved back in with my mother. She had met my stepdad, and they ended up marrying three years later. . . My stepdad smoked marijuana, so I’d steal marijuana from him,” Aaron says. “It was around the house, and they partied.” Feeling like he didn’t fit in at home or school, Aaron relied on drugs and alcohol to take the edge off.

Desperate for Relief

“I’ve been using some kind of substance since I was probably in the 7th grade,” Aaron says. By his 20s, he was using meth. “At 29, I stopped using methamphetamine, and I needed something to fill that space, so I started drinking alcohol,” Aaron says. “I would drink as soon as I got off work until I went to bed. And then, on the weekends, I would drink even more.” He drank so much and so often that it affected his brain. He stopped working, stopped paying his bills, lost his house and started losing his mind. “I suffered psychosis,” Aaron says. “I would talk to myself and yell at myself, or yell at myself and talk at people that weren’t there.”

The Right Brochure

Hungry and in need of a shower, Aaron went to a day center where he knew he could get the things he needed. There, sitting on a table, was a brochure for Union Gospel Mission’s LifeChange program. “I called and I talked to Luis, and Luis called me back the next day, and had somebody to pick me up,” Aaron says. Aaron joined our program, and his life started to get better.

The Right Help

Having the stability of a safe place to sleep and regular nourishing meals were just the start. “A couple weeks in, Kristine, my Care Manager, who is like my best friend here, knew what to do.” Kristine connected Aaron with a doctor who helped him find the right medication so he could think clearly.

The Right Medication

“I got medication, and they hit the nail on the head with the first medication that they prescribed,” Aaron says. With his mental health stable, Aaron was able to get the most out of his counseling sessions and recovery classes. “My counselor was more helpful than any counselors that I’ve had.” With newfound clarity, Aaron was able to experience God’s transforming love. “I never read the Bible before. The Bible’s full of good stuff,” Aaron says. “I know God now, so I’m happy. You can’t break my happiness.”

But Aaron isn’t just happy. He’s off the streets, two years sober and a graduate of our LifeChange Program. He’s a contributing member of our community who recently passed his driver’s test and started working at a new job! “I took on a new trade . . . Running a printing press,” Aaron says proudly. “I’m feeling pretty good about it.”

The Right Place

As Aaron reflects on his new life, he has an encouragement for anyone else who is in the situation he was in. “You’re either going to continue on the same path without any type of a future, and die, or you can make the choice to change,” he says. “All you have to do is ask. Just make sure you ask the right person. You have to ask the right place.” For Aaron, Union Gospel Mission is the right place, LifeChange was the right program and supporters like you are the right people.

Each $20 you give this Thanksgiving can help someone else move off the streets!