Triune Mercy Center: Don’s Story
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Don lost his father as an adolescent. He was overwhelmed by grief and felt abandoned. Don turned to drugs to relieve his pain, opening the door to addiction. Don’s addiction cost him his job, his home, and ultimately led to becoming homeless. For the next 10 years, Don was in and out of jail, living on the streets whenever he was not in prison. During this time he connected with United Ministries’ Place of Hope, a day shelter for people who are homeless. Here, Don was able to shower, wash his clothes, and receive help meeting his basic needs.
The Place of Hope staff connected Don to United Ministries’ Employment Readiness Program, now called Striving to Thrive. Following an empowerment model to achieve self-sufficiency, this program guides participants to achieve financial and educational goals on their path to achieve economic mobility.
Upon completion of the adult education program, United Ministries connected Don to Home With A Heart, a transitional housing program in Liberty, SC. Don credits this organization with changing his life. Despite access to housing and educational services, Don experienced a common barrier of not finding a job after prison. Even though he completed his sentence, he was among the 50% of unemployed men in America with a conviction record. Unfortunately, he began to relapse, but this time he noticed the all too familiar pattern. He quickly found a rehabilitation program at the Salvation Army of Greenville County, a 55-bed facility for men facing chemical addictions*. While there he became sober, and October 21, 2023 marked twenty years of living addiction free!
After completing the Salvation Army’s program, they offered Don a job that he held for the next eight years. Don also began volunteering at the Triune Mercy Center and was eventually offered a job there too as the facilities manager.
Now in his 13th year with the Triune Mercy Center, Don shares, “Nonprofit work is very fulfilling.” For three years, he worked at both the Salvation Army and the Triune Mercy Center because he appreciated how the Salvation Army had done so much to help him.
SHARE, a non-profit agency serving low to moderate-income families with a wide range of services, secured a transitional housing placement for Don. Eventually, with assistance from Jubilee Realties, Don built and purchased a home where he continues to live today.
“I was shocked that I could be a homeowner with all that I had been through prior to my mortgage being approved,” explains Don. Root and Rebound (now Time Served) provided legal assistance and helped clear Don’s conviction record. He received a pardon from the state of South Carolina along with full restoration of his rights.
Life has come full circle for Don. Through FAVOR Upstate, Don is a certified peer support specialist and recovery coach. He dreams of returning to school and becoming a certified addictions counselor in the future. He is grateful for all that he has been given, and he wants to give back to others. He regularly attends meetings and frequently connects people with the Triune Mercy Center to support their recovery. Don has lost many friends to substance use disorder, motivating him to do all he can to show people recovery is attainable .
“If I can do it, God can do it for you,” shares Don.
Don doesn’t want anyone to give up. He wants his story of hope to serve as a testimony of possibility. Numerous organizations were instrumental in helping Don break the vicious cycle of addiction.
*The Salvation Army of Greenville closed their recovery bed program in 2021 as they shifted to renovate their emergency shelters and campus at 417 Rutherford Street.