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Kody Jenkins, age 32, was raised in Carroll County. “I have always loved basketball,” says Kody. “I started playing when I was 5 years old and soon enrolled in community leagues.”

“When I was 12 years old, I started smoking weed and drinking. During my junior and senior year, I moved to acid and heroin and cocaine. I was still playing basketball. In my senior year, I was 3rd in Carroll County for most points scored. Scouts started talking to me and I had a promising college basketball career to look forward to.

Arrested for the first time

“When I was 17 years old, I was arrested for the first time. I was in and out of courtrooms. Right after high school, I had an assault charge. Three days later, I was arrested on major drug charges. They gave me a nine year sentence of which I served about five years.

“After I got out of prison, I knew I still had the basketball talent but I saw the opportunity slipping way from me. I was in and out of rehabs and kept telling myself I would try to play basketball when I got the oppurtunity. Over the next 5 years, I was incarcerated 4 more times and went to rehabs 6 times.

“I didn’t have any relationship with my family during those years. I couldn’t look myself in the mirror let alone be around my family the way that I was. Because of my actions, I hurt family members very badly. I knew I had really messed up and that hurt even more badly than the prison time.

“I got to the point where I had no control over myself or my addiction. If I didn’t get help I would eventually start robbing stores or doing other things I didn’t want to do. I knew it was time to get help. I had heard about Helping Up Mission in the past and decided that it was time to give it a try.

Life was always on the run

“Before I came to the Mission, life was always on the run. I don’t remember ever enjoying life. After I had been at the Mission for a while, I noticed that I was starting to have fun. We went on a retreat to Camp Wabanna. I woke up early so I could catch the sunrise – it was serene. As I started to come to peace with myself, the dream of playing college basketball was reborn.

“My Dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer. When I heard the news, I realized I needed to be able to face him before he died and apologize for that pain I had caused. I had forgiven myself and I knew he had too but I needed to go to him. I visited him and we had a long talk – that was the start of our reconciliation.

Back on my Feet

“My Dad’s diagnosis gave me the motivation to start pursuing my dream of college basketball. I started working out and joined Helping Up Mission’s running team through Back On My Feet.

“I started talking to John, a HUM volunteer who works for Maryland Economic Opportunity Center – an organization that assists individuals in obtaining grants. He knew that I didn’t know how to get started. He helped me fill out the applications and helped me connect with the basketball coach at CCBC Dundalk.

“The coach invited me to attend an open house and try out. When I met the coach, I told him that I had a rough past and things were hard in my 20’s but I was there now. I told him that I wanted an education and I had been waiting for this opportunity for 14 years. He told me that everyone deserves a second chance and that they had a place for me on the team.

“Once I was accepted, I started preparing for college! I enrolled in a summer class to get me prepped for school. I also took advantage of the tutoring services at the Mission to prepare me for my placement classes. Having a tutor allowed me to pass the test and avoid two non-credit classes.

“Running with Back On My Feet prepared me to play basketball again.”

“Running with Back On My Feet prepared me to play basketball again. They taught me discipline through getting up and running every morning. Running helped me to improve my speed.

“I love playing basketball! I’ve been playing in the games and doing really well. It’s a dream come true to finally be playing college basketball.

“Helping Up Mission is a blessing! The Spiritual Recovery Program is set up in a wonderful way. I came to the Mission with a lot of pain. The first 45 days of the program when I was on restriction and unable to leave the building gave me time to stay still and get my head right. Having memory work in Pastor Gary’s class was important to help me start thinking again.

“Having access to counseling at the Mission was critical. The counselors helped guide me through the time with my Dad. They always pointed me back to my relationship with God.

“Helping Up Mission has everything you need to change you life but it’s not going to fall in your lap. At the Mission, I realized that I needed to seize those opportunities. They give you anything you need to change your life!

 

Elroy Hutcherson was born in Virginia and raised in West Baltimore.  “My family has always been a church family,” says Elroy.  “My four siblings and I were raised in the church.

“My dad and uncles drank.  Even though it wasn’t out of control, it was something that I noticed as a child.  When I was 16, I started smoking cigarettes and drinking beer with my buddies.

“My main motivation for drinking was fear.  I wasn’t used to hanging out with the guys.  I desperately wanted to fit in and be cool with them.  Drinking built my courage up and made me feel comfortable so that I could be more outgoing.   Eventually I started smoking marijuana as well.

“I was going to school during the day and working full time at a restaurant in the evenings.  I dropped out of school because it was just too much to try to balance both.  My grades had been suffering because of 
my schedule.

“At the age of 18, my son was born.  Drinking and smoking was a daily thing for me – every day after work.

“I met a woman and we started dating.  I moved in with her in the projects in Lexington Terrace.  She eventually became my wife.  I got a better job and started working for an insurance company.  Things were going well at first, but my drinking and drug use started to interfere with my work.  They could see what was going on.

“The company had a policy that would allow them to pay for my rehab if I was interested.  They sat me down and talked to me about it and I told them I wanted to go – I knew I had a problem.  The company flew me to a 30 day program in North Carolina in 1989.  I learned so much and stayed clean.  Being in a new environment and around new people was amazing!  I was ready to change and I felt great.

“After I completed the program, my wife and her mother picked me up at the airport.  I could smell the alcohol on them and my mind started racing.  When we arrived home, they had a surprise party waiting for me.  My mind told me to stay strong but I was overwhelmed by temptation amidst the emotions of seeing all my friends and all of the alcohol.  I gave in – after that first drink, I was back.

“I was able to keep my job.  They wanted me to go to 3 or 4 AA meetings a week.  I went, but the denial was there.  After 5 years, the company moved and I had to take severance pay.  Finding a decent job was hard because I didn’t have my high school diploma.  I started working with a healthcare union as a housekeeper.  I was there for about 9 years before I had a work accident and broke my foot on the job.  By the time my foot was completely healed, the position was no longer there.  So, I hired a lawyer and won the case.

“By then, my wife and I had split up and I was living with a new girlfriend.  In 2006, after 8 years together, my girlfriend died.  She passed away right beside me in bed one morning.  At this time, I still wasn’t working and I was suddenly in this big house all alone.  Then, I received the big lump sum from the accident and the partying started.  I had all this money and a big house to party in.  I was inviting friends over and partying became a daily thing.  I was trying to cover the sorrow and loss.  But, it wasn’t long before the bills started piling up and the money started to run out.  I couldn’t take it anymore so I turned the house over to my girlfriend’s grandkids.

“I moved in with my sister and lived there for the next 3 or 4 years but I wasn’t feeling comfortable.  In 2010, I decided that it was time to make a change.  I was 50 years old and sitting on the couch – it wasn’t working mentally or physically.

“My sister helped me find the Johns Hopkins 911 Broadway Program.  It is a recovery program and Helping Up Mission provides lodging for the men enrolled in that program.  As I lived at HUM, I met a lot of men enrolled in their residential Spiritual Recovery Program.  I loved what they have to offer, particularly in regards to education.   I started preparing to transfer into the program after I completed the Hopkins program.  But, in my fifth month in the Hopkins program, I relapsed.

“Eventually, I came back and enrolled in HUM’s Spiritual Recovery Program.  I wanted to stay clean.  I wanted to get my diploma. I earned my high school diploma after a year.  That felt wonderful. I started working in the Mission’s Innovative Learning Center for my work therapy assignment afterwards.  I was giving back to the place that had given to me – that felt so good!

“I started working at Johns Hopkins through a temp agency. I am now getting ready to become a full-time Hopkins employee as a Material Coordinator. I stock materials in the operating room that doctors and nurses use to save lives. It’s overwhelming to be a part of that.

“I know my diploma helped me get my job. I help others get their diplomas because I hope it will open doors for them like it has for me.

“I am able to face challenges today.  Life isn’t all peaches and cream but I don’t have to hide from things like I did for so long.  I am thankful to have found Helping Up Mission!”

Drew Dedrick, age 43, was raised in Columbia, MD.  “I grew up in a good Catholic family,” says Drew.  “I did well in school.  I played football, baseball and painted scenery for the drama club and was an artist for the newspaper.”

“I had always been a normal guy. As I entered middle school I got glasses, braces and crazy hair due to my many cowlicks. I wasn’t cool anymore. I desperately wanted to fit in. I felt like good students were nerds so I started making an effort not to get straight A’s.

“After high school, I enrolled in UMBC and joined a fraternity.  I did nothing but drink my entire freshman year.  I felt like it was required to be part of the crowd and it helped me to feel accepted.  By the end of my freshman year, I had failed out of college.

“I started working at Toby’s Dinner Theatre as a morning dishwasher.  Within weeks I was promoted to working with props and stage managing.  From there I became the technical director and finally a sound designer.

“In 1999, I married my girlfriend — an actress I had met at the theatre. We had a good life together. She eventually left the theatre and got a job as a teacher.

“Our first son, Martin, was born in 2004 and our second, August, arrived in 2007.  After August was born, she wanted me to get a “real job.”  She didn’t think that my job at the theatre had the long-term security that a day job could provide.  But, I was comfortable at the theatre and knew that I was very good at what I did.

“After August was born, the disconnect between us grew.  She had matured and become a proper mother but I hadn’t made that adjustment with her.  She kept asking me to drink less.  I hesitantly agreed but never made any real changes.

“We reached a point of crisis in our marriage.  She gave me an ultimatum that I needed to quit drinking, quit smoking and get my health checked out.  I told her that was a lot to ask for and I didn’t know if I could do all of it.  I went to the doctor the very next week.  I tried to quit smoking without realizing how hard it would be.  I never was able to stop drinking.  After six months, right after Thanksgiving 2013, she kicked me out. At first I fought for her and our relationship but eventually realized that it was futile — she was not going to take me back. Not being able to be with my boys was devastating.

“I still had my job at Toby’s and I would sleep in my car and at friends’ houses.  It was freezing cold and so I drank to keep warm.  My wife told me I couldn’t drive the boys anymore.  Once that responsibility was gone, I drank whenever I wasn’t at work.  I drank all day long.  I got to the point where I would shake if I wasn’t drinking.  My doctor prescribed me anxiety medication.  Because I was taking it along with drinking, I started blacking out.  I started getting progressive warnings from my boss about showing up drunk to work.

“From May to October my life was just shame upon shame.  I was hallucinating.  I was very paranoid and stopped talking to people.  I thought I was going to die – I didn’t believe I had any chance to control my alcoholism.  I was only getting ½ hour of sleep every night and drinking didn’t even get me drunk anymore.

“I finally realized that I needed help.  My step-mother helped me look for programs and found Helping Up Mission.  She brought me to HUM and I was an emotional mess.  I had been isolated for so long.  Suddenly, I was in a community of guys all working on the same thing and it was like an enormous weight had been lifted.

“I surrounded myself with good people.  For the first time in my life, I started following the rules.  Anything the staff asked me to do, I did.  I got a sponsor, a home group, developed a great relationship with my treatment coordinator, fully used my therapist and started attending church.

“As I progressed in the program, I had to decide about going back to work right away or waiting.  I prayed on it and decided to accept a work therapy assignment in HUM’s treatment office.  I wanted to give back to the place that had saved my life!  I eventually accepted an internship in the Philanthropy Department.  My family wrote a letter lashing out at me for taking an internship instead of a full-time job.  They wanted me to re-enter the workforce and provide for my boys.

“I recently was offered the opportunity to interview for a position in HUM’s Philanthropy Department as the Marketing and Communications Coordinator.  As I read the job description, I was amazed – if I could have written it myself, this is the ideal job description I would have written.  A couple of weeks later, I was offered and accepted the position.  Working at Helping Up Mission is a calling.  It’s a place where I can help save lives.

“Because I am able to live at the Mission as a residential staff member, I am saving money and able to make financial amends to my ex-wife.  My family apologized to me for writing that letter and doubting me.  They now realize that I was doing the right thing all along, by surrendering to God’s will  and am now in a position to give back to my boys immediately.”

Watch Drew’s interview at our 2016 Graduation Banquet:

https://youtu.be/Z7XY9OguvbA?t=2m21s

Darius Tabrizi was born and raised in Israel. “My mother’s family originated from Israel and my father’s family is from Iran,” says Darius. “I have a twin brother and younger sister.”

“My father came to the US to start a better life for us. We were not able to come right away because we weren’t able to leave during the war. In 1991, the Gulf War ended and my mother brought us here. I was 11 years old. I didn’t speak English when I came here – only Hebrew and Arabic. Baltimore was very different than our small town facing the Mediterranean. I was beat up within my first two weeks here.

“At the age of 14, I was introduced to marijuana and alcohol by boys in the neighborhood. My mind had always been racing and wondering what people thought of me. When I drank, it numbed that and I felt accepted.

“I had gotten into trouble for fighting in Israel and that continued at my public school in Baltimore. I was expelled from two middle schools and three different high schools for fighting. I got my GED through the Youth Corps program.

“I joined the Navy in part to escape legal issues I was facing due to serious drug charges. After finishing boot camp, I was sent to Japan. For two years – I was a great sailor. I received several commendations and awards. My alcohol use was limited to social drinking.

“The War on Terror was under way and I started experiencing racial discrimination. I tried to blend in and said I was whatever ethnicity people thought I was. That really disturbed me and I started drinking heavily. I met a guy in Tokyo who introduced me to drugs – cocaine, crystal meth and ecstasy.   For the next year and a half, I was still in the Navy but began selling drugs on the side. When I had the best looking car on base and an apartment in town, it started to raise questions.

“Unknown to me, NCIS was doing an investigation on me for six months. Just months before I was done with my tour, I was arrested and thrown in a Japanese prison. NCIS pulled me out and took me to a marine corps brig in Japan. I was there for three months – after two months, I was put into solitary confinement for fighting with a corrections officer. My JAG lawyer met with me and I was given an other than honorable discharge and was released.

“I arrived back in Baltimore broken in every way. I was 23 years old and homeless. I came to Helping Up Mission as an overnight guest. For several years I was in a cycle of running the streets hard core and then coming to a homeless shelter for a week or so to regain my strength before going back out again.

“In 2010, I went to American Rescue Workers In South Baltimore. I was tired of my lifestyle and gave my life to Christ. Life started turning around for me. I got a job at McDonalds and started running with Back on My Feet. I joined an apprenticeship program and became a really good electrician and was hired by Hirsch Electric. For the first time ever, I had my own apartment. I started my own business and was going to night classes. I celebrate 4 years clean and sober.

“My life was going great and I had so much distance from my old life that I began to forget. I put everything ahead of my recovery – I stopped going to church and meetings. I got into a motorcycle accident and starting taking pain pills. It was a quick progression from pain pills to alcohol to street drugs. Within a year, I was homeless and had lost my business, girlfriend, truck, home and my savings.

“My father died of cancer in November of 2014. It was one of the worst years of my life. I spent Thanksgiving in a rental car out of gas off of the side of the road. I was estranged from my family and all alone.

“I ran into an old friend, Barry, who works at Helping Up Mission and he told me I needed to come back. I came to the Mission in December 2014 but left to deal with legal issues. I stayed sober for a few months but eventually relapsed.

“I came back to Helping Up Mission in the spring. This time I’m doing things differently. I’m not cocky like I was before and I’m willing to do whatever it takes.

“My mom sells mushrooms at the Sunday farmer’s market under the Jones Falls Expressway. She reached out to me to find out if HUM could use any vegetables for the market. Each week, I go to the farmer’s market to help my mom and then collect the leftover produce from all the vendors to bring to HUM.

“I’ve always loved my mom dearly. It feels great to be able to help her at the farmer’s market. There was a time where she thought I wouldn’t make it. Now she doesn’t have to worry about me.

“Helping Up Mission helped me reestablish my relationship with God, reaffirm my values and learn how to handle situations and personalities that conflict with my character. I lean more on God now. I am 100% serious about and committed to my recovery this time.

“Helping Up Mission is the best. I have been to every homeless shelter, recovery house and transitional house in Baltimore. HUM is the most genuine, caring and influential program I have found. They genuinely care about you and you can feel it. It’s not about filling a bed – it’s about your future.”

Kirk Wise grew up in Jessup, MD. “Music has always been a part of my life,” says Kirk. “I was 5 years old when I first sang up front in church. Church was an integral part of my childhood. I brought everyone to church with me when I was in high school.

“During my sophomore year of high school, my older brother and some of his friends took me out to celebrate after one of my football games and introduced me to alcohol. I only drank socially at first.

“At the end of my senior year, I had a football injury. Although I received scholarship opportunities, they were limited compared to what they would have been had I not been injured. I went to Frostburg State.

“My injury took a big toll on me emotionally. By the end of the first semester, I started getting into physical altercations and became aggressive in practice. Things escalated and I didn’t see a future there. I went home and enrolled in classes at Howard Community College.

“The doctor had been prescribing me narcotics because of my football injury.  When I was introduced to heroin, I realized that it took the pain away. It took away my feeling of being worthless and down on myself because of football and the injury.  I became dependent on heroin but was still able to go to classes at first.

“At the age of 21, I realized I had an addiction problem. I entered into a methadone maintenance program. I stopped going to school but was working. I was in and out of rehab programs.

“In 2005, at the age of 30, I married my wife, Delisha. She knew about my addiction but did not know the extent to which I was struggling. My addiction progressed into a daily thing and I wound up in Montgomery General Hospital in 2009.  They referred me to Helping Up Mission.  I stayed at HUM for 3 or 4 months and did well. When I left the Mission, I was clean. I felt like I needed to go back home and get back to work to support my wife and our four children.

“About two months later, I started drinking again.  Eventually things got bad and I came back to HUM again in 2010.  I was at HUM for 6 months but had to leave because I started drinking and tested positive for alcohol.

“My drinking picked up much faster this time.  Every morning, the first thing I did was drink.  I got to the point where I was drinking up to a gallon of vodka a day.

“In 2012, I lost my grandparents back to back and my brother died in 2013 of a heart attack.  Things got very bad as I mourned for them.  My relationship with my wife was strained and I lost my job.

“I was hospitalized four times within six months. My wife and the nurses told me I needed to come back to HUM.

“I was relieved to be back at the Mission – it felt like a big weight had been lifted off of me.  I realized in that moment that I needed to surrender and admit that I didn’t know how to live successfully.  I had to get my pride out of the way and humble myself.  I was finally at the point were I could receive help.

“I’m a member of HUM’s running team through Back on My Feet (BOMF).  Running with the team is a great way to start the morning and the day.

“Running takes away my fears, doubts, stress and anger.  It makes me feel confident and it builds my self-esteem.  BOMF members encourage me and it’s a pleasure to be with people who truly care.

“Running long distances is all new for me.  I’m registered to run the half marathon with Team HUM at the Baltimore Running Festival on October 17th.  I’m currently in training and very excited for it!

“Not long after arriving at HUM, I got plugged into the choir. I’d been hesitant to jump back in. I prayed about it and realized my singing is a gift to be used for God’s glory. The choir welcomed me with open arms. I felt accepted and released the guilt and shame of my previous recovery attempts.  In that community, I had people around me who wanted me to succeed. I got to sing at the Mission’s annual Graduation Banquet this past April. It was cool to be able to embrace both my music and recovery together.

“My relationship with my wife and kids is getting much better.  I can see the damage that my years of addiction have caused to my family.  I can see what needs to be done for my family and I am prepared to do it.

“I am currently working as a music intern at HUM. I direct the choir and help with the band and setting up the equipment for the weekly chapel service.  It gives me peace to be able to do something I love and see it bless other people.

“I just started attending seminary to get theological training. After I graduate from the Mission in November, I want to be used by God in ministry to help build His Kingdom here on earth.”

Charles Kent, age 48, grew up in Owings Mills, Maryland.  An only child, he was raised by both parents.

“Football was my main focus when I was in school.  I was working towards getting a scholarship,” says Charles.  “After I busted my hip my senior year of high school, I lost my drive and dropped out of school shortly after that.

“My parents weren’t happy that I quit school.  But, they were in the process of splitting up so we were all going our own individual ways at that point.

“My paternal grandmother died when I was 19 years old.  She had been a very big part of my life – I loved spending time with her and used to take her and her girlfriends shopping each weekend.  Her death was very hard for me and I became very defiant.  It wasn’t long before I started using cocaine.  At first, I kept my drug use contained to the weekends.  For years, I worked during the week and then did drugs on the weekends.

“I met a woman and moved in with her.  We created a life together as a family raising her two children and the son we had together.  We stayed together for seven years but my cocaine use was increasing and it got to the point where we just couldn’t make it work any more and I moved out.

“My cocaine addiction steadily increased from that point on and I was locked up for delinquent child support in 1995.

“After I was released, I moved in with a friend and lived on their farm.  I was clean and sober and enjoying life.  At the farm, I met a woman.  We started dating and moved in together.  About 3 years into the relationship, I started using again.  Life felt boring, so I reverted back to what I knew best.  I was keeping it to the weekends and she accepted it.  I was working as a carpenter and wasn’t in the street running around.

“In 2010, we started drifting apart.  My cocaine use was getting heavier and cocaine was taking me in a direction she wasn’t going.  I loved cocaine more than her – even more than I loved myself.  She walked away from the relationship.

“After some time, I decided that I wanted to change and I got clean again.  During that time, I met another woman.  We moved in together and eventually got engaged.  We bought a house and I was working doing landscaping.  By the end of 2013, I was using cocaine again and my addiction was out of control.  I started running the streets and got into more trouble in 4 months than I had in all the years I had been using.  It’s amazing I’m still alive.  My fiancée had enough and asked me to leave.

“I went to a shelter and enrolled in a substance abuse program.  After I finished the program, I came to Baltimore to stay with my mom.  My diabetes was making me sick, so I went to the hospital to get it under control.  I talked to a counselor at the hospital and she told me about Helping Up Mission.  I had already been clean for 3 months but I decided to go get the help I needed to continue my recovery.

“When I came to the Mission I came with a stereotype of what I thought it would be like, but I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived at Helping Up Mission.

“Through HUM’s education department, I started studying for my high school diploma.  I’m ready to take the GED test and am just waiting for my test day to be scheduled.

“I am a carpenter by trade.  While at the Mission, I heard about a program sponsored by the Associated Building Contractors (ABC) – the Jumpstart Program.  It’s a skill program that prepares workers to enter the workforce in the areas of carpentry, electric, construction, plumbing, etc.  I worked on my math skills, passed the entrance exam and interview, and just went to the orientation.  In addition to providing you with training, you are paid a stipend while you are learning and they provide assistance along the way.  They are helping me obtain my driver’s license and handle some legal issues pertaining to child support.  When I’m done with the training, they will provide me with tools to get started and help me find a job.  I feel so good about being a part of it and am excited to see where it will take me.

“I’m finally passionate about something.  Life is really good for me right now.  I’ve let go of all of the junk from my past.  Talking to the counselors and the other men here has been so good for me.  My heart is full of joy and there is no anger any more.

“I love Helping Up Mission!  It’s been 
a big benefit to my life.  The Mission 
will always be in my heart and always be my home.

“My mom loves coming to the Mission to see me as I have receive certificates for each phase of the Spiritual Recovery Program.  I’m blessed to have her in my life.

“My long term goal is to get my own small farm.  I’m looking forward to living on a farm and enjoying life.”