“I KNOCKED AND THEY OPENED THE DOOR.”

Manuel was homeless for five years before he finally came to the Mission.

“It was about two o’clock in the morning. I was cold and hungry and I had prayed for help for days. So I knocked on the door and they opened it.”

That first night, Manuel slept on a mattress on the floor. “I was lucky,” he remembers. “There was only one mattress left!”

It was the beginning of a new way of life for a man who had been homeless for five years.

“They gave me somewhere to sleep, food and clean clothes.”

“My life was changed, little by little.”

Once he had a place to stay, Manuel started attending day classes for substance abuse at the Restart Rehabilitation Center. Today, he’s celebrating his sobriety after 25 years of drinking!

Through the Mission, Manuel eventually found a small place of his own, but he returns to the Mission to eat meals and shower. And, he volunteers here 19 hours a week.

“The Mission gave me hope,” Manuel says. “It is a great place to change your life. Today, my plan is to keep following the Lord and volunteer here whenever they need me!”

This story and more can be found at Open Door Mission's Website.