Carey’s Story

BREAKING CYCLES

Carey found himself homeless and out of hope. But YOU gave him a second chance at the Mission!

Carey never planned to become homeless. No one does.  There’s always a root cause we can’t see at first glance that puts someone out on the streets. For Carey, it was deep-rooted habits he needed help to break out of.  “I was a consummate procrastinator,” says Carey. “I always thought, Why do today what you could put off for tomorrow?”

Carey knew he needed to pay back taxes on his house. But his procrastination tendency got the best of him. Before he could make things right, he was out of time. This home was more than just a place to live for Carey. It was where he grew up with his mother and grandparents. “My grandmother was my rock,” he says. “She told me she would rather me sell the house than ever lose it. She was the one person I didn’t want to fail.”

When he lost the home, Carey had no immediate family left to take him in. He was out of options, angry and grappling with what he allowed to happen. But then, his cousin—who went through our program 18 years ago—told him about the Mission.

“He told me about the programs here,” says Carey. “Something was telling me that what brought me to this point could happen again if I didn’t do something different.” Carey decided to take the first step toward a fresh start and enroll. It was a decision that would restore his stability and turn his life around for good.

A NEW DIRECTION
If you ask Carey what the best part of the Mission is, he’ll tell you “fellowship.” He connected with three other men who became encouraging friends he still walks closely with today. “We have common threads in our history,” says Carey. “Whenever one of us is going through something, we’re there for each other.”

Thanks to your support, Carey was able to participate in classes that addressed his past experiences and destructive behaviors. “There was a major point in my childhood that started me down the road of not being truthful,” he says. “I couldn’t afford to let people get too close to me. Doing so would allow them to know the ‘real’ me.” Now, the “real” Carey is much different—and in the best way.

LASTING LIFE CHANGE
Carey is finding true freedom from anger and regret and is focused on getting his life in order again. Right now, that looks like training through our Workforce Development and Education program. “I’m brushing up on accounting skills, achieving customer service certificates, working on spreadsheets and increasing my typing speed,” Carey says. “I would love to go back to college and get my bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.”

It’s thanks to your generosity that Carey—and so many others—have a caring place at the Mission where they can recover from crises and make lasting changes in their lives!