Renewal Story: Robert

Robert, a hard-working and seasoned plumber, had been torn up by a bitter divorce. He was separated from the two daughters he loved and had fallen into a deep depression. "I would sit in the house by myself and drink all day,” Robert remembers. “I wouldn’t go to work.” Before long, Robert had lost his job — and then he lost his house.

Robert spent some time living in a tent in Tampa. He suffered in the brutal Florida heat, but he hadn’t given up on life. He was determined to make a new start back in Texas to be near his daughters. He bought a one-way ticket to Fort Worth and hoped for the best.

While staying in a short-term recovery center, Robert learned about Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County. He started coming to Club 1401 for meals. “At UGM-TC, they called me by my name and treated me with decency,” Robert says, “so I made the switch.”

As soon as he joined our residential program, Robert knew he had made the right choice. “I needed the structure. I was doing what I had to do and it helped me out of the depression I was in.”

Robert’s case manager was a blessing to him. “She held me accountable and I liked that. If I told her I was going to do something, I had to do it.” That included taking the test for his GED, which he passed with flying colors — even after being out of school for 20 years!

Today, Robert is a proud program graduate. He has secured housing and is busy pursuing the plans he made while staying at UGM-TC. “I’m going to Tarrant County College to study cybersecurity. I’m good with computers.” He is also taking steps to reconnect with his daughters and hopes to see them this Christmas.

“I would highly recommend UGM-TC,” Robert says. “You can start over and do whatever you want to do — go to school or go to work. The sky’s the limit!”