{"id":1371,"date":"2022-04-01T08:33:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T08:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bowery.org\/updates\/?p=1371"},"modified":"2026-01-21T21:59:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T21:59:31","slug":"douglas-hope-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bowery.org\/updates\/2022\/04\/douglas-hope-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Douglas’ hope story: “God just changed me. And He did it while I was at the Mission.”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Coming home to New York City turned out to be just what Douglas needed.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the years before coming to The Bowery Mission, Douglas moved around the country and was in and out of homelessness. Much of his time was spent in the Southeast in places like Asheville, North Carolina and Orlando, Florida. It was a hard life. He recounts the difficulty of living on the street \u2014 even one winter getting sick with pneumonia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He tried looking for work, but his criminal record from earlier in life made things nearly impossible. He had been out of the system since 2000 \u2014 nearly two decades \u2014 but it didn\u2019t seem to make a difference. \u201cI\u2019m surprised I didn\u2019t revert back to my old life because I was under a lot of pressure. But for some reason I never thought about it. No more for me. That was enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Returning to New York City<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Two years ago, Douglas returned to New York City where he had spent his childhood. He was tired of being homeless and wanted to start a new life. \u201cI thought maybe I could find some kind of work up here,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Douglas was living on the streets, someone told him about The Bowery Mission. \u201cI can only say that it was God. At the time, I didn\u2019t know anything about the Mission.\u201d Yet by the time Douglas entered our overnight shelter, things in his life had come to a head. He had even begun to have suicidal thoughts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At the Mission, Douglas confided in a staff member who encouraged him to join our Residential Program for men \u2014 and that\u2019s exactly what Douglas did. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to have met that gentleman. He saved my life,\u201d Douglas says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A slow start<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

That spring, Douglas joined The Bowery Mission’s Residential Program for men. But at first, he wasn\u2019t emotionally prepared to begin working on his life. \u201cInstead of being humble, I was really defiant. My Social Worker would ask me to do something simple and everything to me was her fault.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, and with the support of God and the staff at the Mission, Douglas became a different person from the person he was when he joined. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Douglas<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAt the Mission, I saw that a rose could grow through the cement. I saw people making strides. Even in situations where you\u2019d think ‘no way, that\u2019s too hard,’ you\u2019d begin to see the cracks. That\u2019s what happened to me. I became one of those roses, thank God.\u201d \u2014 Douglas<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A second chance at work<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While in the program, Douglas completed a vocational training program as well as certification in OSHA 30 and SST. He graduated from The Bowery Mission in July of 2021 with a new job working in construction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eleven months later, he got a call inviting him to interview for an even better job working at a hospital \u2014 a dream he thought was out of reach. \u201cI thought, ‘They are never going to hire me with my record. Even though it\u2019s old, from the \u201870s and \u201880s, there\u2019s no way in the world they are going to hire me.’ I just didn\u2019t see it for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Douglas<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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But sure enough, the hospital did hire him. Today, he loves his job working as a patient transporter at a top New York hospital. It pays well and he enjoys what he does. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful feeling to be able to go shopping and to have enough money to pay my bills. I never thought in a million years that I’d be here. This is the last thing I thought would happen. It’s just God. God did this.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A life transformed<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Douglas is currently renting a room on the West Side now, not far from where he lived in his youth, as he works toward his goal of finding his own place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what he\u2019s most thankful for in his life right now, he says: \u201cI’m grateful I’m not dead and I have the opportunity to open my eyes every morning. Every day when I wake up and open my eyes, I thank God. I’m also thankful for the people he put in my life to help me get here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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