I was lost before I came to the Charlotte Rescue Mission. My alcohol and drug use was completely out of control. I wanted to change so bad, but I just couldn’t get my balance.

After getting into the program and completely surrendering my life to God, great things started to happen. He let me know that there are still people in this world that care what happens to me. I now know that there is a much better life without drugs and alcohol. I am inspired to continue on my journey with God in front of me.

In addition to the programs already available through YWCA, CRM will be providing on-going counseling services for our former clients, and for other women who may not have attended Dove’s Nest.  News 14 interviewed Rev. Marciano on the subject.  Click here for the video.

I am truly thankful and grateful for the Charlotte Rescue Mission rescuing me from the strongholds and bondages of my drug addiction. God used Rebound as a lifeline for me. Everything I’ve learned about my recovery from the classes I attended, NA meetings, group therapy, and chapel has helped me to have a better understanding of who I am. I never really accepted that fact that I was an addict suffering from an incurable disease in which I was powerless to and had no control over. It was through the information I received from this program that my way of thinking began to change and I began to incorporate the 12-step spiritual principles of recovery as a part of my daily lifestyle. I would like to say “Thank you again Rebound and to all those who were instrumental in saving my life.”

Donations can be dropped off at the Charlotte Rescue Mission.  It is located at Cedar and West 1^st Street, diagonally opposite the Panther Practice Fields.  For more information, please call 704 333 HOPE!

WFNZ covered the story here.

It all ended when I got drunk and had an accident. I hit two gas pumps at a service station. I only know what happened because I read it in the police report.  I was arrested and put in a jail cell where I spent all night crying.  Some time during the night, I heard a guard say, “Nobody can hear your cries now.” I know now that God heard me.

When I came to Dove’s Nest, I thought I hated everybody and everything.  But it was really me I didn’t like.  The staff was tough on me, but they did it for my own good.  My counselor helped me deal with things from my past that I never really dealt with before.  She also taught me how to look in the mirror and not run from what I saw.  I learned how to look at myself and say, “Yes, I am God’s child” and “Yes I am good.”  I had made some bad mistakes, but I didn’t want to run away from my life anymore.  I stayed at Dove’s Nest for seven months. I was safe there.  I felt that I had self-esteem for the first time.  I felt confident.  I call Dove’s Nest “the healing place.”

I would like to sincerely thank each and everyone individual that makes a place like Rebound possible. I’m not sure if this place saved my life, but I know, in no certain terms, that it changed my life in a positive and hopeful life.

At the onset on 2010, I was drowning in advanced alcoholism, deep depression, and a sense of utter hopelessness. My New Year’s resolution for 2010 was the same as the resolution I tried for 2009, 2008, 2007: I wanted to stop drinking. I used to think that simply wanting to do something was enough, but that is not always the case. I wanted to stop drinking long before I was able to, but I could not crawl out of the bottle. The Charlotte Rescue Mission helped me to put together some sober time, get back in touch with my spirituality, and plug myself into a social network of people with similar experiences. This place has also helped finally convince me that alcoholism and addiction are a disease. I’m not responsible for getting my disease, but I am absolutely responsible for treating and containing it.

The courses offered are all incredibly helpful and informative, all of the counselors truly seem to care and offer a unique and individual take on recovery. The extra care that is given in the first thirty days to each client (such as van rides to meetings and more time to focus on yourself) ease us into the new situation and allows us able time to get acclimated.

Without the volunteers and donors, the Charlotte Rescue Mission would have to close its doors and that would truly be a horrible event. Statistically many people will relapse and have to go through the process again, but without a place like this, numberless lives would be permanently extinguished by alcoholism and addiction.

The Charlotte Rescue Mission has truly changed by life for the better and I am forever indebted to all the staff, volunteer, and donors.

1110 AM, 106.9 FM and 91.9 FM are all media partners with us in this campaign.  Thanks for standing with us and helping Charlotte’s homeless in a season when many people do not think of the needs of the less fortunate.