A young man’s life changed from HORRIFYING to HOPEFUL!
Ryan can sum up his experiences sleeping on the street in one word: “Horrifying.”
“The two days I slept under the bridge at 287 and Vickery,” he says, “I slept maybe 30 minutes because I was worried about somebody stabbing me in the middle of the night. I’d never been homeless before. And then those rigs with their jet brakes . . . it was very loud and very cold.”
A whole new attitude
At 27, after a bitter breakup with his girlfriend and an attempt to “escape” through alcohol, Ryan was in the last place he’d ever expected –- sleeping under a bridge. But his grandmother, a monthly donor to Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County, urged him to come here to start over with God’s help.
Ryan quickly discovered she was right. “I noticed the guys coming out of the men’s group were walking with their heads held high. The guys in the program have a whole new attitude. And I said, ‘I want to be a part of that so I don’t walk up and down here miserable every single day.’”
“The resources are incredible!”
Ask him what he likes best about the programs you support at UGM-TC, and he’s immediately enthusiastic.
“The resources here are just incredible,” Ryan says. “From recovery, to getting Social Security, to getting housing, to getting into the workforce, anything . . . I’ve already gotten three temp-to-hire positions at warehouses.”
Thanks to your support, Ryan is on a better path today, ready to work hard to build a stable future. With healthy meals, a safe bed, spiritual care, and help to find a job, his life has gone from “horrifying” to “hopeful”!
