How often do you see someone in need and have your heart swell with compassion? Do you ever become overwhelmed with emotion when you see someone else in pain? Does suffering get to you?
“I wanted to be a man. A leader. But I ended up becoming a menace to my community. I was destorying it with my gang lifestyle and criminal mentality. I was stealing cars and doing drugs. “
Believe it or not, Alonzo grew up as a very shelted child. “I had grown up as a sheltered kid. But I wanted a different life. My big mistake was not listening to my parents. I rebelled. They told me to do one thing and I wanted to do the opposite.”
They come from every walk of life. Some were raised in affluent families. Many have college degrees. It is shocking how many have held leadership positions in corporate America, earning six-figure incomes. They have families and have owned homes and nice cars. Yet, somehow they ended up homeless on Albuquerque’s streets. Alone. Addicted. Groping for their humanity.
American is the wealthiest, most educated and technologically advanced nation in human history. Why does a nation with only 4% of Earth’s population consume 80% of the opioids? What pain are we trying to numb?
I was abused growing up. To cover up the pain, I started drinking when I was 11 years old. I was in a very dark place. My whole life I was struggling with alcohol. I was trying to deal with it on my own and failing. I didn’t have any guidance.
Daughter. Granddaughter. They feared she was dead. They knew she was homeless. But they didn’t know where she was. No one had seen her for weeks. She had gone on one of her drug binges that lasted for days.