Ryan was shocked . . . his car was gone.
He’d only been gone a short time, getting his driver’s license renewed. Had it been stolen?
No. He soon discovered that he was in a zone where payment is required to park. And he hadn’t paid. He hurried over to the towing company to try to make things right and get his car back, but they demanded a hefty fee and Ryan didn’t have the money.
“I was stuck, officially walking the streets,” he says remembering how desperate and helpless he felt.
It was a huge setback during a delicate time of rebuilding for Ryan. He had recently been released from jail. “Taking care of some mistakes that I made,” he says.
With no friends or family to turn to, his car impounded, his only clothes being those he had on, Ryan swallowed the bitter pill that the streets and alleys of Nashville were now his “home.”
From Desperation to a Fresh Start in Life
“I was sleeping on the pavement, using a curb as a pillow, and still doing some things that I shouldn’t be doing,” Ryan says. “I was trying to find ways to cope with being on the street.”
Finally ready to leave homelessness behind and face the addictions that had derailed him for so long, Ryan followed God’s leading to Nashville Rescue Mission.
“I needed help,” Ryan says. “I’ve been through programs before and I decided that maybe I needed something different. I heard about the Life Recovery Program here at Nashville Rescue Mission and figured it might be a good way for me to turn things around.”
Grateful for a Second Chance
Ryan has come a long way since he first walked through the doors here at Nashville Rescue Mission. He’s learning how to live free from addiction, he’s working at a job he loves, and he’s also playing some gigs as a musician.
“I’ve seen some of the worst things that I’ve ever seen in my life [on the street]—people drinking water out of a storm drain and a woman pushing her infant child through 120-degree weather,” he says. “But [now] I’ve also seen some of the best things I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Celebrate with all of us here at Nashville Rescue Mission for the blessings God has wrought in Ryan’s life and please give and pray that more lives will be saved and changed in the days ahead!
