Jon followed a friend to Arlington about 5 years ago and quickly fell in with the wrong crowd, making bad decisions which ended in jail time. On release, he says was invited to stay with a friend, but admits “that would have put me back in the life I was trying to leave.” So he wisely found a place to stay at the Arlington Life Shelter.

Jon stopped by Mission Arlington^® one Thursday morning to ask Tillie if she knew of any addiction recovery groups. She told him about Celebrate Recovery and mentioned that, if he had time, she needed some help around the Mission that day. Could he help? He stayed all day, working hard, helping around the furniture delivery area. One of the Celebrate Recovery leaders was also volunteering that day, so at closing time, Jon rode with W.C. to his first Celebrate Recovery meeting.

Afterwards, the 3 mile walk back to the Life Shelter gave Jon time to think. He says he couldn’t stop smiling, “I felt a sense of actual purpose. The next day I came back…and I’ve been coming ever since.”

Jon is grateful for this new job, friendships, and support system. He mentions he has a difficult anniversary coming up: the tenth year since his mother’s death. This will be the first time in many years that he’s planning to cope in a healthy way. Jon says, “I’ve been trying to put my worries up to God and let him take care of it.”

On God placing him at Mission Arlington^®, he says, “It’s been amazing…It’s been a blessing to me personally. Everything I’ve needed, from getting my birth certificate, to finding CR, to getting a job, but it’s also help me find my faith again. I’ve been here a couple of months now, and I couldn’t be happier.”