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Union Gospel Mission Helps Recovering Meth Addicts
POSTED: 7:56 pm PDT October 1,
2007
UPDATED: 11:45 am PDT October 2,
2007
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Dave Johnson currently makes coffee for homeless people at the Portland Union Gospel Mission.It's a big change for Johnson – he used to make and sell methamphetamine.Johnson said he used methamphetamine for almost 30 years and he was a meth addict until four years ago."I lost everything, I lost my family, I stole from my family," Johnson said.
But Johnson's life changed when he enrolled in the faith-based Union Gospel Mission's Life Changes Program. He now works in the kitchen at the Mission.He said that after spending almost 20 years in prison and decades addicted to meth, the Life Changes Program saved his life."I was a meth zombie out there, a tweaker who thrived on his next hit," Johnson said.Amber Jones, who manages the kitchen at the Union Gospel Mission, is also a recovering addict.Three years ago, she lived with drug dealers and did anything they wanted to get high. She said the addiction kept her trapped.When her weight dropped to 95 pounds and she was hospitalized with kidney infections, she finally enrolled at the Mission."I have more peace in my life and more security in my life than I ever had," Jones said.The Life Changes is a Christian-based program open to all types of addicts, who must apply to enroll. For many addicts, it's made life worth living again."That's what keeps me off meth," Johnson said. "The companionship, the accountability and what we live by here."
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