When Donnie hit rock bottom, your compassion lifted him up.
Donnie, a lifelong Everett resident, faced his darkest moments battling addiction and homelessness.
At 36, after years of jail time, failed treatment centers and hitting rock bottom, Donnie knew something had to change.
“I was in a place of surrender,” he recalls. “The Lord spoke to me, and I knew it was either going to get better—or worse.”
With nowhere else to go, he turned to Everett Gospel Mission. But at first, he was reluctant.
“I had some bad experiences with Christian people,” Donnie admits. “So, I wasn’t a really big fan.” But when he walked into the Mission, everything changed.
“The people here are different. They love people like us. They really care.”
Donnie Was Welcomed Without Judgment
At the Mission, Donnie found more than meals and shelter—he found acceptance.
He arrived broke, hungry and wrestling with addiction—but the Mission never turned him away.
“One thing that was really impressive was there was never any judgment” he said.
At the Mission, Donnie found he wasn’t treated like a number. The staff and volunteers knew his name, asked about him and prayed with him.
“They aren’t just doing a job,” he says. “They are invested in us. They really cared about us on a personal level.”
Donnie entered the Genesis program. He took tasks wherever he could—laundry, front desk, whichever need there was.
“It gave me a little bit of purpose and responsibility where I was like, okay, yeah, I can do this.”
Second Chances
A friend suggested Donnie apply to Campbell Nissan. Still early in recovery, he was terrified to interview.
“I was barely sober, but the Holy Spirit told me to tell the truth,” Donnie said. “[Kurt Campbell] said, ‘Tell me your story,’ and I did.” When Donnie finished, Kurt said, “When can you start?” That was nine years ago.
Today, Donnie is a father, a follower of Christ and a service advisor at Campbell Nissan.
“God gave me a new heart with new desires—and the Mission gave me a second chance,” he says.
These days, Donnie returns to the Mission—not for help, but to serve and share the hope that helped change his life.
“I was homeless, addicted and on the edge of suicide,” says Donnie. “But the Mission saved my life.”
Thank you for being the support Donnie—and so many others—needed to leave addiction behind, find people who care and start fresh with real hope and purpose
