Tucson Center Students

My life growing up was pretty calm and normal. However, I began messing around with drugs at the age of thirteen. I feel that the biggest reason I enjoyed using drugs was the temporary feeling of masking internal voids and because I didn’t want to face emotions. Right before coming into Teen Challenge, I was faced with multiple legal complications and issues. While I am here, I am striving to get closer to the Lord and receive complete healing so that I can live out the calling that he has on my life. I am looking forward to learning more about the word of God while here in the program and am excited about a new chance at life.

Favorite Scripture: Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Life growing up was pretty family-oriented and I grew up in and around the church. My addiction began around the time that I moved to Tucson my senior year in high school. I began smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol on a regular basis. I believe that I used drugs and alcohol because of the environment that I was in and the people that I chose to surround myself with. Right before coming into Teen Challenge, I picked up a DUI and found myself in legal trouble. I realized that my drinking was something that needed to be addressed. I am here to seek the Lord and have my relationship with him restored. I am looking forward to what he has for me. 

Favorite Scripture: Hebrews 10:39 “But we are not those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”

I grew up in a pretty normal family environment, I just had an angry and sometimes violent father. At the age of 11 years old, I smoked marijuana for the first time. I mainly abused drugs and alcohol to receive comfort from the pain that my dad inflicted on me growing up. Before coming to Teen Challenge, I was a talented salesman, but I relapsed on a work trip in Chicago and came to the point where I did not want to live anymore. By the grace of God, I chose to continue on and came into Teen Challenge. I am here at Teen Challenge because a family member of mine went through in the past he found success and I was ready to try something new. While here, I would like to understand God’s plan and purpose for my life so that I can live according to his will. 

Favorite Scripture: Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you.”

My life growing up was actually really good. I had loving parents that were supportive and provided for me in every way possible. However, my addiction to drugs began my senior year of high school due to a sports injury and followed me for the next 15 years. I initially used drugs to alleviate physical pain, but then I began surrounding myself with the wrong crowd. This behavior eventually became a lifestyle. Right before entering Teen Challenge, I was using fentanyl and it took over my life. It got to the point where it was interfering with the relationships I had with my children and I knew something had to change. I am at Teen Challenge to seize the opportunity for a new life and a closer relationship with God.

Favorite Scripture: Mark 8:36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”

Growing up, I had a hard life. I grew up in a broken home and left my house at the age of 14. I was getting in fights with my father and felt that it was time to leave. I was exposed to drugs at the age of five and was a full-blown addict by the time that I was fifteen years-old. I turned to meth because I felt that it helped me cope with my troubled life. Right before coming into Teen Challenge, I decided that I wanted to get closer to God. He led me here. I finished a sixteen-week intensive outpatient program and came into Teen Challenge right afterwards. I want the Lord to change my life. I want to draw close to him and view myself through his eyes. I also hope to learn to read and write better while being here. I am happy to have this opportunity.

Favorite Scripture: Matthew 7:12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

I’ve been a middle-class, blue collar worker pretty much my entire life. I believe in hard work and good character. I would say that my addiction really began when I was in high school. Instead of focusing on classwork, I fell into drinking alcohol and smoking pot as much as I could. It initially started because I was curious about that type of lifestyle. However, heavy drinking stuck with me for years to follow. Before coming into Teen Challenge, I attempted to take my own life. It felt as if I could not live with alcohol or without it. By the grace of God, I am still here today. I am here at Teen Challenge to get close to the Lord, live at peace, restore broken relationships, and to live a life filled with joy and happiness. I know that comes only from walking in-step with the Lord.

Favorite Scripture: Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding.”

Growing up, my mother took care of me, as my dad was pretty much out of the picture. He struggled with alcoholism for the majority of his life and it ended up leading to his death at a rather young age. I began partying when I was younger and drank socially in my mid-to-late twenties. I had a successful career as a general contractor and was married with kids, a house, and a nice income. However, over the years, addiction began to take and take until I reached a place in which I was desperate for help. I felt that the alcohol helped me cope with the separation with my wife. We were married for around twenty years and the divorce destroyed me. I am here at Teen Challenge because my daughter had been praying that I would receive help and I reached a place in which I was desperate. I am here to grow closer in my walk with the Lord and to establish a successful routine that will follow me when I complete the program. 

Favorite Scripture: Proverbs 26:12 “Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them.”

I was adopted when I was nine months old but grew up in a really nice and loving family. However, I always felt as if I was striving for perfection and not measuring up. My problems began around the time that I was in middle school. Drugs helped me control my stress because of the health condition that I was facing and numbed stress and anxiety. Just before coming into Teen Challenge, I was arrested for an altercation with a family member. I am here to better myself and become a better father and husband through the refinement of Christ. I am searching for a deeper relationship with Christ and a solid and foundational identity in him. 

Favorite Scripture: Romans 2:10 “But glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Growing up, life was pretty tough. There were family conflicts that I was caught in the middle of and my dad gave me a few bad experiences. My addiction initially began around the age of 17. It started with drugs such as marijuana and cocaine, but progressed to harder drugs down the road. Looking back, I used substances to try to numb the pain that my father caused. Before coming into Teen Challenge, I had a pretty severe stroke. I lost my job and my sense of identity. I am here at Teen Challenge to get back to my roots. I was raised a Christian and walked with God, but ended up doing my own thing. I have faith that the Lord will restore what was taken from me. I hope to one day own my own business again. The Lord will take care of me. I am excited for His plan for my life!

Favorite Scripture: Matthew 8:20 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

Growing up was difficult. It was hard to navigate a healthy life with a broken family, lack of supporting parents, and plenty of poor choices on my part. My addiction actually began when I was 10 years old. I started using drugs in order to cope with life. I have been struggling with addiction for around 20 years and have even tried other rehabs in an attempt to get and stay clean. I am here at Teen Challenge to be completely set free by the Lord and to be in a place where I am on the track to succeed and thrive. I desire to be completely walking with the Lord and ready to take on whatever life throws with him leading the way. 

Favorite Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:5 “For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.”

I had a good childhood growing up. Both of my parents were present and supported me and I had a loving home overall. My addiction began around the age of 12. It started out with prescription painkillers from a football injury and eventually led to heroin and meth use by the age of 15. Ultimately, fentanyl is the drug that really took my life away. I truly believe that one of the main reasons that I used drugs was to escape boredom and because I surrounded myself with the wrong crowd. Most of my friends were much older than me. I came to the point that “I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.” I was overdosing and gambling with my life. While here, I hope to through Christ have my relationships restored with my family and receive custody of my daughter. I am putting my faith in Christ.

Favorite Scripture: Romans 5:3-4 “We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope in salvation.”