Progress: Stories of Hope

By Stuart Harper

Our society pours millions of dollars and thousands of man hours into programs supporting the poor and homeless and we have to ask ourselves, “Are we making any progress?” From my vantage point at the Mission, I say absolutely YES. The reason I can say yes is because I see the progress each day in people’s lives. I was at the market the other day and saw one of our program graduates working. He was explaining to a woman about the difference between two different cuts of meat. I have to admit I felt like a proud father. One year ago this man was unrecognizable to even his own family. His recovery is remarkable. He is living proof that through God anything can happen.

The progress I see is individual. One person digging out of the hole they dug over many years and successfully living and contributing to our society. Our goal is to help the individual and through them to help others. Just like the movie Pay It Forward; someone helped me, so I will help someone else. I can not explain to you the courage it takes for a person to walk through our doors and ask for help. Americans are proud people and when you add in family heritage and tradition, the pride is almost palpable. The biggest barrier to recovery is pride. That is why many have to lose everything before they can ask for help. For those of you that know my story that was something I had to overcome to find my way back. The results of misplaced pride are some of the saddest stories you ever want to hear. So if progress is gained one person at a time and that person helps another and so on, then what you get is momentum and momentum is a  very powerful force. When one of our men and women go back into the community they become missionaries. Missionaries of Hope. They are a living example of Grace. Their example will show others that recovery is possible through faith, hard work, responsibility, accountability and help from others. They prove that a person can change and through that change become a contributing member of society.

The progress is not ours alone but progress is made possible by a myriad of community partners covering the entire spectrum of needs. Each organization plays a vital role in each person’s success. I went through our records for one of our recent graduates and no less than six agencies provided support of some kind to this man over the past twelve months. Each organizations houses experts in their field. This man used Lake Shore Mental Health, Neighborhood Legal Services, Crisis Services, Christian Nurses Association, Food Bank, and The Matt Urban Center. All of these agencies played an active role during this man’s recovery and subsequently this man returned back to the community to become a contributing member of society. Today he has gained custody of his daughter and is living with her in their apartment on the east side. Dad and daughter are thriving thanks to the contributions and commitment of this community.!