A veteran's story: Recovery at Third Street

Andrew’s promising career as a sonar technician in the Navy was cut short when he became addicted to crack cocaine at age 25. He lost not only his job, but also friends, financial stability, and the roof over his head. Now, our Recovery Center at Third Street is helping Andrew get his life back in order.

Founded in 1969, the Recovery Center was the nation’s first outpatient clinic for homeless adults struggling with addiction.

For Andrew, who is still homeless, it is a welcoming place where he learns to cope with substance use disorder, bipolar disorder, and PTSD.

“The Recovery Center has shown me that wellness can be a million different things—eating right, exercising, listening to music when I need to calm down, even learning to breathe the right way,” he notes

Now drug-free for over three months, he has a steady job delivering food and he has signed up for our Next Step Internship Program to pursue a career in human services. He plans to move into his own place in Queens.

“I’m a very proactive person and Project Renewal helped me be very proactive about recovery,” Andrew says

Client Story: Vincent

Substance use disorder has overshadowed much of Vincent’s life. To support his addiction, he sold drugs, then got caught, and went to prison. On parole, he feared relapsing into a cycle of addiction and incarceration. He found hope when a friend referred him to Project Renewal.

Today, Vincent’s therapy at The Recovery Center helps him stay away from his old habits and cope with post-traumatic stress that lingers from his time in prison. With newfound optimism, he enrolled in culinary school and hopes to work as a cook. “The Recovery Center gave me a golden opportunity and I’m going to take advantage of it,” he says.

Luis’ Road to Recovery

Luis’ family immigrated from Mexico City to America in search of economic prosperity.

In 1978, they moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn—a very different neighborhood than it is today. “It was a rough part of town back then,” Luis remembers. “There was a lot of racism and we spoke Spanish, so I was a target and was involved in a lot of fights.”

Struggling to fit in, Luis started drinking as a teenager and dropped out of school. He got married, had a daughter, and worked a variety of jobs. But throughout his adult life, alcohol addiction continued to limit his success and even led to two arrests.

He tried several rehab programs, but he never thought he would find one that could help him establish long-term sobriety—until he came to Project Renewal’s Recovery Center, an outpatient clinic for people struggling with substance use disorder.

“Project Renewal’s program is really working,” says Luis, who has been in the Recovery Center for four months. “They get to know you and they really care.”

Our staff has diagnosed Luis with anxiety and depression and is providing him with medication and counselling, in both one-on-one and group settings.

Now, he’s optimistic for the future. “I want to get my GED and become a real estate agent,” he says. “I can focus on those goals, now that I’m taking care of my health.”

Immigrants with mental health and substance use issues are far less likely to get treatment than people born in the U.S. who have the same issues. Unfortunately, due to hateful rhetoric and harmful policy proposals, immigrants are increasingly afraid of accessing services. To support the Recovery Center and other Project Renewal programs that help vulnerable immigrants, click HERE.

Redemption

A few years ago, William was struggling with addiction and trying to rebuild his life after years of incarceration. Today, at The Recovery Center at our Third Street Shelter, he’s helping other men who are in similar positions renew their own lives.

William began using drugs and alcohol when he was in high school, and as a young adult he was arrested on drug-related charges.  Four and a half years later, while he was on parole at the Bellevue Men’s Shelter, a Project Renewal counselor told him about The Recovery Center.

“I was at my lowest point,” William says, “I was depressed and felt like I had nowhere to go. I was skeptical about The Recovery Center because I was in a struggle with myself, like a tug of war. Part of me didn’t want to go but I gave it a shot.”

Opened in 1968 as the nation’s first outpatient clinic for homeless adults struggling with addiction, The Recovery Center provides easy access to on-site group meetings for both Third Street Shelter and neighborhood residents.

For William, all it took was a couple of group meetings to realize that sobriety was a realistic and worthwhile goal.  “I started to relate to some of the stories that were being told in the meetings,” he says. “I realized that I wanted to be a role model and help the other guys who are like me.” 

After 11 months in the shelter, William moved into transitional housing and he has become a role model and leader at The Recovery Center. He commands the respect of his peers through his honesty, consideration for others, and pride in what he has accomplished in his recovery. As a member of our Peer Representative Program, he has gone with our Intake Coordinator to tell his story to clients in other Project Renewal programs.

William hopes to eventually move into his own apartment. In the meantime, he’s enjoying the simple pleasures in life that sobriety affords him. “When I was using, everything I did was negative,” he says. “But now I go to plays and baseball games and amusement parks. I’m doing a lot of positive things.”