“Jeff Puts the Brakes on a 38-Year Ride of Drinking!”

Any number of circumstances can lead someone into addiction. For Jeff, it was a freak accident at a Fourth of July party when he was 21. “Someone pushed me into a swimming pool, and I broke my neck in three places,” he says. Miraculously, Jeff was not paralyzed. However, he spent two months in the hospital, after which his pain medication was abruptly cut off. 

“That’s when I discovered Jack Daniel’s,” Jeff says, “and started on a 38-year ride of drinking.” 

During that harrowing ride, Jeff had more jobs than he can count. A steelworker by trade, he could typically only work a few months before his old injury would flare up and he would quit or be fired. All told, he spent 11 years with no income at all, living with his parents during the leanest times. 

When Jeff’s parents passed away in 2012, he had nowhere to go — and he was still drinking. He lived on the streets for almost two years before his brother-in-law brought him to MorningStar Mission. 

Jeff had been through several rehabs before coming to MorningStar. He graduated from the program and took another steelworking job —  which only restarted the cycle of pain, addiction, and homelessness. 

In 2019, Jeff returned to MorningStar on his own volition. “I was ready this time. I’d had enough,”  he says.  

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the  Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”  — 2 Corinthians 3:17

Today, Jeff works for the Mission, picking up food donations from restaurants and grocery stores. He lives in Hope House, our transitional housing for graduates, and enjoys a strong relationship with his sister, his only surviving family member. “She tells me all the time how proud she is of me, and she’s thankful that MorningStar was here for me when I needed it.” 

Jeff also gives thanks for MorningStar Mission —  and for your generosity. “Please keep giving,” he urges. “The way times are going now, it’s really tough and getting tougher. There are a lot more  people like me out there who really need help.” 

Without your support, Jeff says, “I would probably be dead.” Thank you for providing a place where men like Jeff can restore their lives and find freedom from addiction!