From Addiction to Redemption
Augustin spent decades trapped in addiction, but says the moment his first daughter was born, his life flashed before his eyes. Holding her in his arms, he realized she deserved a father whom she could be proud of.
I hadn’t showered in three days, and I just wanted water. No one would give me water. No one wanted to help me, or even look at me.
Once a promising cellist, Augustin fell into addiction as a teenager. Though he eventually rebuilt his life and became a journeyman carpenter, the long hours led him to meth to stay awake. For years, he believed he was a “functional addict” —married, working, and raising three daughters.
God was missing. Hope was missing.
They treated me like they were there for their paycheck.
Eventually, addiction cost him everything. After DCS took his daughters, Augustin spiraled into homelessness, living in alleys and near railroad tracks.
“I felt like I wasn’t any good to anybody. I was a nothing, a nobody… I just wanted to park under a bush and die.”
Then came a brutal summer day. The heat became unbearable and his thirst overwhelming. Ashamed and desperate, he tried asking people for water, but no one would even look at him.
He made his way to GRM through Operation Rescue from the Heat, hoping to find help.
“At GRM I was welcomed with open arms. I was able to take a shower and get clean. They gave me clean clothes to wear. They took the time to give me hope and show me I was somebody.”
The next day he made the decision to stay and enrolled into the Recovery Program.
“Recovery here is unlike any place I’ve ever been. It’s God-driven. I get to come into the presence of God with my brothers and sisters every day. My future began here at GRM.”
