Hope Ministries graduate John Hall awarded PCHC Inspiration & Achievement Award

The Polk County Housing Continuum has named Hope Ministries graduate John Hall as the winner of their 2010 Inspiration & Achievement Award. Congratulations, John!

John Hall, 51, came to Hope Ministries in October 2007. In fact, he was paroled to us from the Newton prison. He told our staff he had struggled with addiction issues for the past 30 years and had been in and out of treatment centers for his entire adult life. His routine, he explained, was to complete treatment by "going through the motions" until his time was up and then returning to his old ways. His longest stretch clean and sober before coming to Hope Ministries? Sixty days.

He told us, "When I got out of prison, I planned on going through the [Hope Ministries] program and just going back to using. But when I got into STEP [the first phase of Hope Ministries' Journey of Hope long-term recovery program for men] and the Door of Faith, I started to change my thinking."

John came to us as a homeless, divorced ex-convict who was estranged from his children. Today, John has graduated our program, is employed full-time in the construction field, rents a home with a friend and has rebuilt his relationship with his two sons! He is active in his church and hosts a Bible study in his home. John is also the president of the Hope Alumni Association. This October, John celebrates three years clean and sober!

All of us at Hope Ministries are proud of John and believe he more than deserves this award! He has overcome addiction, homelessness and the internal struggles of loss and low self-worth. He now lives a life of integrity and honesty. Congratulations, John!