A Safe Place to Get Real
It was only a few weeks ago that Allen knew something was very wrong. Suddenly and without any obvious reason, dark thoughts began to invade his mind, whispering that he really didn’t want to live anymore.
“I was confused by what I felt,” Allen remembers, “because I’ve fought hard to turn my life around and stay alive. These thoughts didn’t feel like my own.”
This isn’t the Old Allen whose best friend had been a bottle for most of this life. This isn’t the Old Allen who had self-treated the effects of his bipolar disorder with both alcohol and crack cocaine.
No, this is a New Allen … free from drugs and alcohol for over a year and a half … a graduate of Kansas City Rescue Mission’s residential recovery program for men … volunteering and building friendships at his church … reading his Bible and praying every day … feeling stronger than ever after a series of difficult surgeries and losing hundreds of pounds.
This is a New Allen with everything to live for. So Allen did what has become his new normal: he got real with the problem instead of running from it.
Allen felt safe enough to share his confusing thoughts with a KCRM staff member who helped him connect with a mental health professional. Soon they were able to adjust his bipolar prescription and his suicidal thoughts vanished.
That’s only the most recent example of courage and character that Allen has developed at KCRM. “Coming to KCRM has changed everything,” he says. “I feel loved and accepted here. Until I came to KCRM I hadn’t been able to really work the 12 Steps (to recovery). I had never completed Step Four because that’s when you have to put all your baggage out there. I had a lot of baggage to deal with, but I finally did it here.
“Joe’s class (Executive Director Joe Colaizzi) especially helped me to get real with myself because I began to realize how much God loves me!”
God’s love has helped Allen confront his past and face today’s challenges with confidence. “I have peace of mind I’ve never had before and my focus is where it needs to be. I enjoy the man I’ve become!”
