Like Living with Family

"AT ONE TIME I was living on the street, staying in abandoned houses. It was cold -- real cold -- sometimes 15 degrees. And I stayed balled up in the corner, because I didn't like the shelter."

"When I was at the shelter, I knew it wasn't me. It was so dirty, and people were going through stabbing people. When I was sleeping someone threw a bottle at my eye, and it got swollen. I was too scared to go to sleep, so I drank myself to sleep. The only way I could stay in that place was to stay drunk. I had no job and no money."

"I didn't have anyone I could talk to. And then Dr. Goetcheus came and wanted to help me. And she saved my life. If I hadn't come here [to Christ House] with her, I probably would have died in that shelter."

"I had a swollen liver, a broken wrist, and heart trouble. They took good care of me here. They gave me the attention nobody ever gave me in my life."

"I was here two to three weeks, and then I got a room in a rooming house. I tried to work two jobs, because my day job didn't pay enough for a place to live. I thought I had it made. But just when you think you can do it yourself, you really can't."

"One night I went back to the shelter to drink with some friends. I ended up quitting both jobs. Dr. Goetcheus saw me again, and she was shocked at how I looked. She was so disappointed, I felt like crying. I had lost weight, and I was down there fighting, and my eyes were black and swollen up. It really hurts when somebody cares about you and they see you that way. I went to get my clothes and just started crying."

"I was kind of ashamed to come back up here, but Dr. Goetcheus told me don't feel like that. She said, 'Christ House is always open for you, Sylvester.'"

"I've seen people come in here like they lost their last hope; and I've seen people walk out with a smile on their face. It's not all in the medicine, it's the way they [the staff] treat you, and make you feel like part of society. I've never been to a place like this before in my life. They give you so much medical attention, and so much of their attention. And sometimes I wonder how, because they have families, too."

"I was kind of hot-headed, and I denied I was an alcoholic. But I finally said I think I'll go into a program. I stayed 33 days, and it did me a lot of good. I don't drink anymore."

"I worked hard for that [program] certificate. I wanted to get it for Dr. Goetcheus, Sister Lenora, and Sister Mary Louise. I wanted it for myself, but I wanted it for them, too. I got that certificate for all of us."

"NOW I'VE BEEN living at Samaritan Inn [affiliated with Christ House] for two months. I work as a porter and gardener, a job I got through Jubilee Jobs. I'm trying to save money, while I try to make sure I keep my sobriety. Since I've been here, I got a tutor and now I can read. Through the help of Christ House, I may soon be getting my GED [high school equivalency diploma]."

"Living in Samaritan Inn is like living at home with my family. Everyone is kind. We need more places like this that give a man an opportunity to come in and see what living's all about again. If you've been on the street a long time, you forget."

"I feel good, at home, safe -- around a lot of people who care about each other. You have this fear in your heart sometimes, when you've been around people who are so nice and then you have to go out and face all those devils. But they tell you here that there's a way to get around it."

"I used to have a lot of self-pity. I guess I thought the world owed me something. I worried about where I'd sleep tonight, where I'd eat today, where I'd change clothes or take a shower. I used to pray to God, will he help me do this, and help me do that."

"Now I pray to thank God for the blessings he gave me. I thank God for good health and for Christ House and Samaritan Inn, for Lori [Samaritan Inn counselor] and Sister Lenora and Dr. Goetcheus. They're the main people in my life now -- them and my 14-year-old son. They're in my prayers every night now."

"I know I'm still a spring chicken, and just because I have a certificate doesn't mean I won't have a relapse. But I think as long as I stay in contact with people like these, I'll make it."

"Dr. Goetcheus and Sister Lenora saw it in me; they said, hey, this man is worth something. And they didn't give up on me."

"I think people look at me now as a man more than when I was on the street drunk. I know my son has a lot more respect for me now. Good things are happening in my life; if I lose now, I lose a lot."

"I just wish that there were more places like Samaritan Inn and Christ House; then we wouldn't need the shelters or have so many homeless out there on the street."

"They say there's a place in the world for everybody; I guess this was the place to change my life. Maybe God sent Dr. Goetcheus and Sister Lenora to me."

"Before I didn't know too many good people. I know a lot of good people now. These people will always be in my life. One way or another, these people will always be in my life."

Sylvester Dean was living and working in Washington, DC when this article appeared.