What brought me to St. Joe’s? I would say it was divine intervention.
Breone had reached a breaking point. He was navigating bipolar illness and addiction, and had stopped taking his medication. He found himself living in what he called an “abando-miunum”—sharing it with a wild raccoon.
“I was living hand and mouth… I was eating one meal a day which consisted of Hawaiian Punch and potato chips. And I was doing drugs and alcohol.”
Then he met a reverend who pointed him toward Catholic Charities. “He had told me about this place—it was a godly place. This place was like a beacon of light, a lighthouse in the storm of what I was going through.”
His first day at St. Joe’s was a turning point. “I was scared. I was tired. But there was a spirit of peace in this place. I felt safe immediately. Everybody welcomed me with open arms.”
That welcome came with support—and structure. The open-door policy meant he could turn to any staff member whenever he needed help. “If there’s a problem here, I can go anywhere.”
Breone had lost his job due to depression. Catholic Charities helped him begin again. “They helped me, you know, put myself back together.”
Now, he’s clean. He’s back in the flow of life, with job interviews lined up and a certification as a peer specialist. More than that, he’s rediscovered faith—and purpose.
They encouraged me here to, you know, find God again and use my talents to help other people.
There’s been grace in the process. “My worst day clean is better than my best dangers… and that’s a gift. That’s a blessing.”
But perhaps the greatest gift was the one that rebuilt his self-worth. “The biggest thing they’ve done for me is not let me beat up on myself. I can be very, very driven in the perfections—and they’ve let me know that I don’t have to be perfect.”
Breone doesn’t sugarcoat the depth of what was at stake.
I would not be sitting here today if it was not for Catholic Charities. There’s no doubt in my mind… I would not exist.