When the mother of Dustan’s sons (who was struggling with addiction) cheated on him and took off with the boys, he fought to find them and won permanent custody of his kids.

Dustan wanted to give his sons what he didn’t have as a child — a parent who gave them love, stability, and a healthy upbringing.

Dustan was just 3 years old when his parents were incarcerated.

Raised by his grandmother, he reunited with his mother as a pre-teen — only to lose her again when she passed away three years later.

Grieving, while feeling lost and alone, Dustan turned to the street scene of Eureka, California, looking for guidance in all the wrong places.

But the beginnings of the person who wanted more from his life began to emerge. Dustan tested out of high school, moved away, earned an associate degree, and began painting murals and doing trade work. But the childhood experiences that led him to the street scene and drugs were still part of him. Partying too hard and profiting from marijuana sales was still a way of life.

“I just brought my mess [from my upbringing] to other places,” Dustan says.

But once he became a father to three boys — two of them twins — he committed to putting drinking and drugs behind him for good.

But then, life fell apart again when their mother fled with the boys.

After winning the custody battle, Dustan and his boys moved in with his sister — an unsafe environment where drugs were also present. He was a single dad with three young boys and nowhere safe to turn.

That’s when a friend told him about the Rescue Mission. Because of your support for people in need, everything began to change.

Today, Dustan says, “Everything I hoped and prayed for is happening here.”

Dustan and his three boys have the opportunity to rebuild their lives, free from the burdens and stress of poverty and in a wholesome and safe environment. Today, the boys are excelling in school, playing baseball, and developing their own relationships with Jesus.

They’re finally experiencing the joy-filled childhood that Dustan always dreamed of giving them — for himself and his sons.

Now, Dustan is helping lead our school-age children’s program and plans to become a Registered Behavior Technician through our Success Center after completing his program at Village of Hope.