Because of you… Ernie wants to keep living.
Ernie had been a functioning alcoholic for years, and then his body started failing.
“I’ve got a prosthetic leg on my right, and then my left leg has been injured for the last couple years,” he says.
His leg injury got infected, and the pain was so bad Ernie begged a friend to call an ambulance.
“I felt like I was dying,” he remembers.
Ernie’s condition was so severe that they kept him hospitalized for a month. But when it was time for him to be discharged, he didn’t have anywhere safe to keep healing. Thankfully, the hospital staff told him about our Neighbors Care respite program that partners with the medical community to provide people experiencing homelessness a safe place to recover.
“I had to make a choice. Do I want to live or do I want die?” Ernie says. “I just want to live,”
And because of friends like you, Ernie has been given that chance! While staying with us, he got his driver’s license back and decided to go back to school. He even made the dean’s list.
“It’s an incredible turnaround,” Ernie says. “I have no desire right now to backtrack… I’ve been clean since July of 2022… Not even a cigarette.”
Because of friends like you, Ernie is alive.
Because of you, he’s gotten the chance to heal.
Because of you, he’s sober.
Because of you, he went back to school.
Because of you, he’s a new person!
*Name and images changed for privacy.
Thank You!
Ernie’s life wouldn’t have changed without the support of friends like you.
Thank you for showing compassion when people need you most.
