I would like to first say that I am very grateful for what the Merced County Rescue Mission (MCRM) has done for me, because without the assistance of the Mission, I may no longer be in existence today.
My parents divorced before my first birthday. My mother married many times after, having a child just about with each marriage. Being the oldest, I did my best to get my nine siblings dressed, fed, and ready for school since my mother was preoccupied.
When I was seven, my grandfather, who seemed to be the only one to give me any kind of attention, passed away. I loved my grandfather very much. He was not doing very well, so I helped him as much as I could. However, one day, my mother and her husband told me he was going to be alright and took me someplace for a couple of days. Upon returning to see how my grandfather was doing, he had already passed away. I was devastated and very angry with my mother, which put me in a state of not caring about life any longer.
At the age of twelve, I began hanging out with older gang members who introduced me to heroin, which became a big part of my life for several years. In my early twenties, and I believe due to caring for my siblings starting at a young age, I began working with special needs children for a little more than a decade. During this time, the mother of my son took my son and moved away without letting me know where she had moved. My son is now twelve, and I haven’t seen him since they left.
In time, my addiction took me into a very dark place, which led to me being arrested more than a few times, not showing up for court, and avoiding my arrest warrants until I was re-arrested. I became homeless and entered the Hope for Men for the first time on April 12, 2022, staying for only two months. Later, I enrolled at the Navigation Center but exited six months later. I went from the Hope for Men to the Navigation Center several more times in the next two years, overdosing on heroin three times during that time.
And this is why I am very grateful to MCRM and its staff because they never gave up on me during that time. For that reason, I was able to become a Resident Assistant at the Hope for Men, work as an Enhanced Care Manager (ECM) for MCRM, and now hold the position of Peer Navigator in Transition to Hope, again with the MCRM. My goal now is to help as many individuals as possible every day in the same way that I was helped.
Thank you, MCRM! - Anthony
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