By Mary O’KEEFE

The Salvation Army seems to get the most attention around the holidays when folks hear and see the familiar bell ringers outside grocery stores. But it is so much more. The Salvation Army has a wide-reaching program that helps those who are struggling with addiction.

The Salvation Army – Pasadena Adult Rehabilitation Center is a place where those who are struggling with addiction can find a safe place to “restore” their lives. 

For those who live at the Pasadena center this program is not just a safe place but a place they call home. They make friends as they face the everyday struggles of battling their addiction, and find a way to plan for the future. 

Capt. Christine Morales leads the center with compassion and a strong hand. Residents are required to follow specific rules that not only make it safe for everyone at the center but also teaches the structure that many residents had been lacking. 

Iris (we are using only her first name due to privacy concerns) is a resident at the center. Her mother brought her to the facility. 

Life had not been easy for Iris. She lost a child, who had special needs, a few years ago. 

“After he passed away was when I started drinking really heavily,” she said. 

She then lost more loved ones and the relationship she had with her child’s father. 

“And then I met somebody who introduced me to meth [methamphetamine],” she said. “And that’s when everything got much worse.”

There was still more family tragedy she had to cope with and she ended up just giving up. She wasn’t motivated to get help or to do anything. 

“I was just using,” she said. 

She ended up being placed on an involuntary hospital hold, known as a 5150, for three days. 

“After that I went back home,” Iris added, “but I was still using.”

She was carrying a lot of guilt about what she was doing and how it was affecting her family. When she wasn’t doing drugs or drinking alcohol she was thinking about it. It consumed her. She knew what she was doing was going to kill her. 

“I was okay with it,” she said. “I [didn’t] care.”

Her mom did not give up on her. She kept asking Iris to get help. Iris told her mom that if she found a rehabilitation place she would go. 

To be accepted into the Pasadena center a person must be sober for at least three days. Iris’ mom took care of her and watched her stop using every drug and drinking alcohol. Those three days were very difficult; Iris just went along with whatever she was told to do. 

“It was hard because I think I was ready to end my life. I was so miserable that I didn’t really want to live,” she said. 

Iris has another child and thought of him and her mom. They were what made her want to live. She had lost custody of her son but still wanted to be part of his life. She realized that her fear of losing another child was just an excuse to use drugs and alcohol.

“Depression and mental health and drugs is the worst combination,” she said. 

However, after being at the Salvation Army – Pasadena Rehabilitation Center she found the strength to not just live, but to live a healthy life. 

She graduated from the program.

“Iris is completing the Boots Program with the Southwest Carpenter Training Fund and I just heard is doing a great job,” Morales said.

Jimmy came to the Salvation Army after trying other rehabilitation programs. 

“I went through the motions. I acted like I was there [for help]. I took the chips and talked at meetings but in the end I can’t remember anything [while I was] there,” Jimmy said. 

He said he didn’t connect with counselors and felt like those who he did speak with didn’t really care about him. 

“I think they were just doing their jobs,” he said. 

Jimmy had legal issues and was on probation. He was very close to returning to jail. He had lied about not using drugs, which he still did. That’s when his probation officer, and his lawyer, told him about the Salvation Army. His dad also supported his going to the center. 

His dad dropped him off in front of the Pasadena center and then left. Jimmy was standing outside, holding his bag of clothes. He hadn’t had a great relationship with his parents and he saw disappointment in his father’s eyes.

“I think I was always selfish,” Jimmy said. “I never checked in with them. I missed holidays and birthdays. I only went to them when I was in trouble.” 

Jimmy walked into the center. He wasn’t allowed to call his dad for a while and, when he finally did, his dad answered after the first ring.

“It was 6 in the morning. He picked up right away and I actually cried while I was talking to him. I’m a grown man and I was trying to hold it together. I said ‘I just want to tell you that I’m good,’” he said. 

Jimmy said his parents gave him and his siblings everything and his sibling are successful. He said he didn’t understand why he took the path he did. 

“Even when I watched movies I always wanted to be the bad person,” he said. 

He went to prison as a teenager and when he got out he was an adult. 

“When I got out I felt like people were expecting me to be an adult and I tried my hardest but inside I felt like a child,” he said. 

He didn’t know everyday things that most people learn along the way as they grow up. He had never had a girlfriend, never had a real relationship. 

“I don’t want to use that as an excuse but in reality the world was [a] terrifying place,” he said. 

He tried to turn his life around. He spoke to teens at juvenile halls, he volunteered at soup kitchens and was going to church. But he continued to use drugs and continued to get in trouble with the law. 

But then, when he walked into the Salvation Army, everything changed. The people at the center eventually knew him by name and he felt they cared about him. He found strength in the regimented program and in God. 

“Jimmy is completing the Peer Support Certification program and is still in our program in the process of moving forward with life,” Morales said. “[He] is doing well.” 

For information or to donate visit https://pasadena.salvationarmy.org.