Category: Stories

Jeremy had a taste for drugs early, starting in high school using marijuana. That quickly led to cocaine and meth. By the age of 21, Jeremy had lost his driving license and his job and was sitting in prison for drug use and multiple DUIs.

Devin grew up in a loving Christian home. His father was a minister, right here at Memphis Union Mission. He enjoyed being involved with the church and attending youth groups and bible quizzes.

Travis grew up in a dog-eat-dog life, with a family of addicts. He was introduced to drugs and alcohol at the age of 11, and spent time in and out of jail as a juvenile through his mid 20’s. Drugs had a daily hold of him, and they ran his life.

“There was something broken in me,” Christina relates of her younger years. Sexually abused as a child and introduced to alcohol in middle school, she was easily charmed into marriage to an older man when she was 21. “He won me over, but he was abusive in every way,” she recalls. “If there was a…

Grateful and blessed, Gabriel is a “steward for God.” He started working here while he was in the program, battling the drug addiction that began after his divorce.

“Following Jesus is the best thing that ever happened to me!” Brother Keith first came to Memphis Union Mission after being paroled from prison. However, he was still in a prison of his own making.

“My childhood was very crooked. My dad was very abusive verbally, mentally, emotionally, physically and sexually.” Because of her traumatic childhood, Sandi began using meth. Soon, she was getting a divorce and homeless. She saw no hope for herself.

James grew up way too fast. He quit school and started working at 15 to support himself. By the time he was 17, James considered himself an adult who could do whatever he wanted. That meant running with the wrong crowd and taking drugs.

“I was in denial that I was addicted,” Darrell says of his teen years. “My parents thought I was just being rebellious.” Darrell describes himself as an occasional drug user back then, but he would go on binges. On the occasions when he did stop using drugs, he always went back to them, and his…

“I felt hopeless,” William says of the nine years he spent homeless. A veteran, he had returned to his hometown of Memphis at 40, addicted to drugs and alcohol. He was fortunate enough never to have slept on the streets, but moving from one friend or family member’s couch to another eventually took its toll…