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His dad died a month before Phil was born, leaving
the family alone and vulnerable. While his mom struggled
to make ends meet, Phil seemed bent on self-destruction.
Rebellion, disobedience and alcohol became his hobbies.
Phil began drinking when he was only seven! With
no father -- no healthy male role model in the home
-- Phil thought it made him a man. Strong. Macho.
Invincible.
Drugs naturally followed, and by the time he was
in high school, Phil was seriously hooked. Though
he eventually graduated from college, held prestigious
jobs and had the things most young men seek, inside
he was deeply troubled.
Phil held high-paying positions in the political
consulting arena and state government. He even taught
school. But his drug use and drinking cost him many
of those. Eventually, the years of substance abuse
caught up with him, and Phil's life caved in around
him. He was fired from his last job and lost everything
he owned -- and almost his mind.
Phil tried countless times to kick his habit. He
even helped a friend kick hers. But somehow he couldn't
manage to clean himself up. Things got so bad that
he was hospitalized with severe drug-induced psychosis.
After his release, Phil began an 18-month odyssey
of depression, aimlessness, suicidal fantasies --
and still more drug abuse.
| "I'd
lost all desire to live. What I needed was a caring
environment, where I wasn't judged..." |
Through the help of his sister, and through a series
of amazing circumstances that can only be called providential,
Phil was allowed to enter a detox facility and then
directed to CityTeam.
Physically ravaged, emotionally numb -- at the end
of his rope -- he finally was able to express his
sincere desire to change. Phil was admitted to CityTeam's
recovery program. Through concentrated personal counseling,
spiritual guidance and a
supportive environment, Phil is now putting his life
back together.
"I'd lost all desire to live," says Phil.
"What I needed was a caring environment, one
where I wasn't judged. I needed to learn a disciplined
and ordered life. But what I needed most was time
away from the world to develop a relationship with
Jesus Christ."
CityTeam's program emphasizes self-evaluation, personal
responsibility and structure. We help people like
Phil learn where things went wrong and why. Phil now
understands the root of his selfdestructive behavior.
"I tried to find an identity in all the disobedience,
drug use and alcohol," he says. "Now I know
that my identity is in Jesus Christ."
After nine months in our program, Phil is about halfway
home. Though he is now beginning to think about the
future, including possibly going back to school, Phil
knows that full recovery is still a ways off. "It
took me 30 years to develop a destructive lifestyle,"
he says. "To invest a year or two into untwisting
all that seems reasonable."
Life doesn't always turn out the way we want it to.
Just ask Phil. And when it doesn't, fortunately there's
a place like CityTeam -- and generous friends like
you, who believe the "Phils" in our world
are worth saving.
The face of hunger and homelessness is changing.
More than ever, "the boy next door" is coming
to our door -- in desperate need of help. Thank you
for doing your part to help him find a hot meal, healing
and hope for the future.
*Not his real name
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