Henry Thompson
8/11/1942

“If you show them that you have
the desire and the will to help
yourself, they’ll bend over backwards for you.”

When I came to St. Mary’s, I had nothing, absolutely nothing. Due to my drinking pretty heavy, I lost every job and any housing I had. For twenty-five years I was kinda jumping around from shelter to shelter, detox to detox. When I was younger, I didn’t mind sleeping in an old car or an old house. But now, it’s totally different; I’m kinda wore out and tired. I’ll be 62 in August.
Through word of mouth, somebody mentioned St. Mary’s Center. When I came to St. Mary’s I had absolutely nothing. St. Mary’s offered me opportunity. They managed to get me shelter and get me back on General Assistance. Everything’s been coming up roses since I came here.
In the shelter, our day starts about 6 am. We leave at 8 o’clock, but Monday through Friday, we’re allowed to stay here in the courtyard. Around 9 o’clock the staff serves us coffee and doughnuts and the offices open. In the morning we have a Recovery 55 meeting and an afternoon meeting for people in the shelter.
I’ve been here two times previously, but I wasn’t honest with myself or the program because I was still drinking. That was the problem. I didn’t want to quit drinking. Now I’m trying to think differently. Drinking’s not as fun as it used to be.
The morning Recovery meeting is open discussion. Some of the people advise me or see some of the things that I don’t see. We speak on our addiction problem and the best way to cope with it. Most of the guys handle it by coming every day to that meeting. I’m looking in that direction. One of my primary goals when I got here was to get employment. Thanks to St. Mary’s, not only am I getting employment, I’m going to have an apartment.
At St. Mary’s, all you gotta do is be sincere and follow the program. The guidelines are simple. If you show them that you have the desire and the will to help yourself, they’ll bend over backwards for you.
I recommend St. Mary’s. It opens up doors. There is love here—that’s the only thing I can say. People here, it’s just unbelievable how much care and concern they have for each and every one of us.