To look at Phil,* you'd never guess his past. Tall, dark and handsome, he's...well, "the boy next door." Yet from early childhood, Phil was haunted by all kinds of personal problems.
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.

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

Our hope is that you and others will partner with us in transforming the lives of these men. Thanks for your help!