Just two years ago, Ryan was addicted to heroin. Dwight was sleeping on the streets, miserable. And Jeremy was sitting on the I-84 overpass, trying to build up the courage to jump after his meth addiction had torn all hope away. But instead of succumbing to drugs, suicide, and hopelessness, each man found his way to The…
Read MoreJohn distinctly remembers sitting in his bedroom as a teenager just waiting for his dad to come home from work. “I would sit there listening for him to come up the stairs, sitting back waiting for the confrontation. That would be scary. One time I actually pulled a bag out and put it over my…
Read MoreKathy isn’t a middle-aged man. She’s never slept on the streets of downtown Portland, and she’s never held a cardboard sign on a street corner. When you hear the words “homeless person,” you probably would never imagine someone like Kathy. But just a year ago, Kathy was indeed homeless. Her heroin addiction had robbed her…
Read MoreDwight hated his life. He isolated himself from his family, embarrassed to tell them that he was often homeless. He always put on a smiling face for friends and family, but he was dying inside. He often considered suicide. Since coming to Portland Rescue Mission, Dwight has healed from the demons of his past and…
Read MoreWhen the economy took a dive, Scott lost his job. A lack of connections left him jobless and alone. Depressed, Scott began to drink in order to forget the despair that he was feeling. “I lived on the streets. It was pretty tough. Trying to sleep is the hardest – I didn’t want to fall…
Read MoreLife was rough for JoAnn growing up. Both parents were addicts, and her father had extreme anger issues – JoAnn has vivid memories of him yelling and breaking things in their house. Surrounded by bad influences (JoAnn had her first alcoholic drink when she was just four years old), the turmoil and fear seemed like…
Read MoreAs a little boy, Hunter loved camping with his family. Those memories were always his favorites. One day, Hunter’s parents divorced and right before his dad left, he promised Hunter that he’d take him camping again. Hunter waited years for that call. One day the phone call finally came. But it wasn’t the call he…
Read MoreWhen Mikole was just 14, she was thrust into survival mode. Her mother, struggling with addiction after a bad divorce, often left her and her little sister home alone for days. The abandonment led Mikole to leave home and dive headlong into her own addictions. “I drank, smoked pot, did ecstasy and coke. I was…
Read MoreRandy was one of five men who graduated from our New Life Ministry last week. During the ceremony, each of the five graduates took the stage to share their stories. Listen to Randy’s powerful story here:
Read MoreJust two years ago, Nate was completely homeless. Randy and Scott were caught in a downward spiral of alcoholism and despair. And Jonathan and Hunter were addicted to meth and heroin. Last Thursday night, all five of them graduated from our New Life Ministry in the first-ever graduation at The Harbor, our new facility for…
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