Cece

Growing up in a tiny town east of Orange County, Cecelia felt isolated. She strained against the lack of opportunity and longed for the excitement of the Big City.

The youngest of three children — and a self-described spoiled brat — she admits to “not being the family favorite.” Cecelia became a loner and a bookworm, but also an A- and B-student. She wanted to excel so people would notice and care…

James

James is from a big, close-knit family. And family was the center of his life. “I was always loved by my family,” he says. “We always got along well.”

It’s not surprising, then, that when his marriage failed, his life came crashing down. He felt like he’d lost everything.

“I didn’t live up to what a husband should live up to.” And that, says James, led to four years of homelessness and drug addiction. His life became a roller coaster…

Elizabeth

Jeramy

Like many young people battling addiction, Jeramy thought he could quit any time he wanted.
“I was in and out of other programs,” he recalls. “I’d have brief success, but I’d always relapse.”
What Jeramy didn’t know at the time was that God was still looking out for him, despite the mistakes he made….

Michelle

Sadly, Michelle became a drug addict at 13 years old.

After two decades using and selling drugs, she had completely destroyed her health. At 26, Michelle was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and an enlarged heart due to her drug use.

Out of fear and desperation, she worked hard to become sober. But, she relapsed again. In less than two years, her entire body had deteriorated….

Kimberly

Kimberly grew up in the church. And while her parents were deeply committed to their Christian faith, she strayed as a teen. “I chose drugs and blamed everyone else for my problems.” From age 14, Kimberly would run away from home for weeks at a time. “I was a complete wreck,” she says. Her problems followed her through life, resulting in three failed marriages, a total of six years of jail time, and three decades of drug use….

Carolyn

As a teen, Carolyn seemed to be on the right track. She came from a good home, was a star athlete in high school, and, by appearances, had it together. But she now sees she was fooling herself. Years of misery were on the way. She just didn’t know it. All it took was using meth one time. “I spiraled down and started participating in risky behavior,” Carolyn says…

Sunni

Like a growing number of women with children who seek refuge at Orange County Rescue Mission, Sunni was fleeing an unsafe marriage. Worried about their safety, unable to find an affordable place to live, and overwhelmed with anxiety about their future, Sunni and her two daughters came to us for help to get through the crisis…

Jodie

For Jodi, it was a long, terrible road to the Rescue Mission. She grew up in a home where drugs were used openly. She used them in front of her own kids. And worst of all, she wasted years on one thing: feeding her addiction.

Drugs finally took over her life, bringing the loss of her children and a long, agonizing year of homelessness. With no place to go, and her kids in the care of a relative, she slept in the back of a broken-down pickup truck parked in a driveway. Finally having reached absolute rock bottom — and desperate to get her kids back — Jodi accepted a family member’s referral to the Rescue Mission…

Sam

“This love slammed into the center of me.” Sam remembers the exact moment God grabbed a hold of his heart. He was doing the most ordinary of things
— taking a shower.

“This feeling flooded into me,” Sam remembers. “It felt like being high, like being in love . . . I heard a voice say, ‘I needed to take you away from all those other things you love . . . the drugs, the girls . . . all the distractions . . . I am all you need.’”

Tony's Story

When Tony first arrived at the Rescue Mission, the biggest burden he carried was regret. “The most hurtful thing about being an addict and an alcoholic was how can I make up for my past? How can I make up for my past mistakes and failures?” Tony shares.

As a child, Tony just wanted to belong, especially after his parents’ divorce. So he began spending time at a friend’s house, including time with his friend’s father, looking to fill the void his own father left behind…

Stephanie’s Story

Stephanie can tell you just what hope for a new life means to her.

Before she got married, she was independent and stable with a good job as a dental assistant.

But soon after her marriage, she found herself in an emotionally unstable relationship, which soon escalated to physical abuse.

Once so full of confidence, Stephanie began to lose her sense of self-worth.

Just save my kids…