I guess Santa and his helpers decided not to let snow, wind rain, or a pandemic keep him from his favorite stop of the year. It was my pleasure and privilege to, once again, personally, observe Santa’s helpers and Santa himself hand gifts out to the...
On January 5th, 2015, I stumbled into the lobby of CRI-Help, again for the fifth time. I held a small grocery bag in my hand – it contained all of my belongings. I was begging for another chance at recovery. That...
I recently went on a long-range fishing trip for eight days to Alijos Rocks in the Mexican waters. It’s several hundred miles south of San Diego. We left on November 19th on the Polaris Supreme out of San Diego. One of the highlights of this...
1985 was my first introduction to Cri-Help, Inc., I was sitting on the wooden slat bench in the lobby by the front door, and I noticed this rock lying on the ground outside the door that read We Care. I became homeless on August 15, 2016,...
THE DEAL … Your trespasses will be forgiven if you forgive those who trespass against you! I don't believe it's our nature as addicts to do all the daily work necessary to keep spiritually fit unless we are desperate. When things are going well, most people feel...
For me, gratitude is waking up in the morning and not being sick or going to the methadone clinic or wondering how to stay well. Gratitude for me is my two beautiful daughters, four grandsons, and beautiful sons in law. I know I would not...
We live in unprecedented times, making it difficult to find things for which to be grateful. However, over the course of the year, I have discovered just how fortunate I truly am. Typically my life moves very fast, and I am often so busy it...
“I didn’t come to treatment to be quarantined for 14 days,” he shouted while he walked across the street to McDonalds after Cara asked him if he was leaving treatment. He had been in residential for two days, and it wasn’t his first time in...
“We can be happy and fulfilled with or without money, with or without a partner, with or without the approval of others” (It Works How and Why pg. 81). That excerpt is probably the most punk-rock thing I’ve read in my life and got me...
The electronic monitor locked around my ankle reminded me that, although I was no longer in a jail cell, I was still the property of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. I knew at the time that CRI-Help was my only chance at regaining my...