From Ruin to Renewal

“I was broken,” Ses says simply. “Completely broken.” Years of alcoholism has systematically dismantled his life piece by piece. Jobs vanished as quickly as bottles emptied. Relationships crumbled under the weight of broken promises and missed opportunities. His spirit, once vibrant, had withered to almost nothing.

Ses’s story echoes through the halls of Springfield Rescue Mission, where addiction has left its mark on hundreds of lives. But his journey took a different turn – one that transformed not just his circumstances, but his very identity through our New Life Rehabilitation Program and biblical based principles.

THE DECENT

The progression was gradual at first, then devastating. What began as social drinking evolved into a dependency so severe that Ses found himself hospitalized with acute pancreatitis, his body literally failing from alcohol’s assault. Career opportunities evaporated. Ses began to distance himself from his loving and supportive family out of a growing fear that they would chastise him and reject him due to his drinking and drugging. “I lost everything that mattered,” Ses reflects. “But I didn’t realize at the time that I had already lost myself.” The addiction had become his master, dictating every decision and consuming every thought. He was trapped in what he now calls “the cycle of alcoholic despair.”

THE TURNING POINT

The first step in Ses’s journey began in a treatment program which kindled his appetite for change. There he achieved his first period of real sobriety in years. However, Ses recognized the need for a deeper understanding of God’s plan. Ses had learned for SRM’s faith-based approach and decided to give it a try.

The Short-Stay Program provided Ses with immediate stability and safety during his most vulnerable moments. But it was the New Life Rehabilitation Program that introduced him to concepts that would ultimately reshare his world view: faith, purpose, discipline and service. “I discovered something more powerful than the addiction,” he explains. “It wasn’t just about stopping drinking – it was about finding a reason to live differently.”

A BEGINNING, NOT AN ENDING

Ses’s story stands as testament to the possibility of renewal, even when circumstances seem insurmountable. In a world where addiction often feels like a life sentence, Ses found something different: a second chance, and the comprehensive tools to make the most of it.