Niko is celebrating Easter with JOY – because of you!
Thank you for showing him that new life is possible.
Niko’s struggle with addiction began at a young age, sipping his parents’ unfinished drinks. By the time he was a teenager, the grip of alcohol had taken hold of him. “It was a downward spiral, I just kept drinking and getting worse.”
Throughout his life he endured the loss of many people including his baby sister, his parents, his son, and eventually, his wife – and each loss weighed him further down in grief and pain that he drank to escape.
At age 63, after DUIs and jail time, he found himself at rock bottom without a roof over his head, and mourning the death of his wife. “It made me want to drink myself to death,” he admits, but instead he turned to your Evansville Rescue Mission.
“I’ve turned my life around now, thanks to God.”
For Niko, arriving at your Evansville Rescue Mission felt like being found after wandering lost for years. The community became a cornerstone of his recovery, and he felt God working in his life as he took part in our P.A.C.E.S. program and attended church and AA meetings regularly. “I’ve never had friends that were sober before – they’ve helped me get my life back together. And I have a relationship with Jesus Christ now.”
In addition to his physical and spiritual recovery, Niko has reconnected with his love of creating art, and plans to nurture that habit in his retirement. Niko’s future is bright with hope. He’s saving money and plans to move into an apartment of his own soon.
Thank you for sharing God’s love with Niko this Easter. His life has been renewed through the joy and hope of the Gospel! “I was lost, like I said, and now I’ve got a friend named Jesus, and I’ve got sober friends, and things are looking up.”
