After moving from a small town to the big city, Christopher started using drugs with friends a relatives. “Doing drugs became a family thing, it’s just something we did”. It was acceptable for him to do drugs at home and drop out of school at the age of 17.

In the beginning of the pandemic, UGM’s LifeChange for Women and Their Children had a unique challenge. How do you do distance learning for 10 kids without disrupting the classes and counseling for the women in recovery?

Pete is the Homeless Services Coordinator for the downtown Mission. Our downtown location primarily provides meals for people who are chronically homeless or who live locally in low-income or transitional housing. “Not all of our guests are homeless, some are just low-income or working folks that fall short of money between pay checks,” says Pete.

After losing his father at the age of six, Lawrence turned to drugs to help cope with his losses.

Angeline refers to it as generational trauma. Her parents and her grandparents all suffered from addiction.