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A Clean Slate
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 At 43, Tandy has spent half his life battling an addiction to drugs and
alcohol. Almost a year ago he sat at his dying mother's bedside - just
months after losing both his father and grandmother - and vowed to make
one last attempt at getting his life back together.
Soon afterwards, Tandy ended up
in the hospital himself. "That was around the time that I hit rock
bottom. I felt I had nothing to live for," recalls Tandy. "I had no
home, no job, and no friends or family that would even call or come to
see me. They had suffered as a result of my struggle many times before,
though, so I really couldn't blame them.
"Since I had no health
insurance, I had to agree to be released from the hospital to a place I
vowed I would never go, a homeless shelter," says Tandy. "All I had was
a pair of pants and a shirt that the hospital had given to me. As
difficult as it was, I had to start asking for things I needed -
clothes, shoes, transportation and even a haircut. I was so humiliated.
All that was going through my mind was, 'How did I let myself sink so
low?'"
Tandy eventually ended up at Breakthrough Urban
Ministries, and right from the start, he felt hopeful. "I started to
feel human again. I was treated with respect, like I was part of a
family," he says, and adds, "Breakthrough was spiritually based in a
way that I knew, deep down, I really needed and wanted. Spending time
in devotions and conversations with the staff and guests really brought
me back from spiritual starvation and depression." Tandy continues, "I
cannot begin to describe the serenity, calm, and security I began to
feel. It was a lot like when I was a child."
Today, Tandy is hopeful and focused. He is thankful that Breakthrough connected him with an opportunity at Inspiration Corporation,
where he receives job training and work experience. "My mindset has
changed even more," he says. "I am dreaming again. Dreaming of what I
could be and about what life has to offer when I focus on doing the
next "right" thing. He smiles and says, "I feel that my life has just
begun. It's a new page to be written, a clean slate. I see many
opportunities and many challenges ahead, and that's exciting."
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