He is serving as a vocational resident and is looking into truck driving school

Joe got to the Mission in November 2022.

Joe recalls a nice upbringing. “My mom and dad were married forever,” he said. “I had an Air Force dad and my mom stayed at home and raised us. I played baseball and other sports and, to me, I had a great childhood. I didn’t start doing drugs until I was a grown man.”

Joe clarified that it was in his late teens that he got into meth. “I was at a family get together and was with a cousin,” he said. Shortly after, he started drinking alcohol.

Joe more or less managed his drug use for years. He got married and had three children who are adults now. He worked at the NASA communications complex in Barstow for 15 years. But when his wife passed away about two years ago, things escalated. “I managed it all the way until she passed, and then I started really abusing it,” he said.

But when Joe realized his problem was out of control, he knew where to go. “My wife and I used to volunteer here years ago,” he said. So in November 2022, he entered the program. “I love being here. This place has been awesome to me.”

Joe thrived at the Mission. “Bonding with all the guys has been really good. It’s like having a family,” said Joe, who finished the program after 10 months and became a resident, helping manage the house, driving the truck to pick up donations, and taking the guys to vocational training and appointments.

“I love being a resident,” he added. “I’m trying to steer them in the right direction, but really they probably teach me more than I teach them. I love watching them grow from where they were when they came in.”

Joe has grown in his relationship with God, too. “As a young kid we went to church every now and then, but I wasn’t really religious until I got here,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot since I’ve been here. God is good. He puts you in the places you need to be put.”

Joe will soon move into the Mission’s transitional housing. He’s currently looking into going to truck driving school. “I get along great with my kids, always have,” he said. I have two in Georgia and one here in Victorville. I’d love to get my Class A truck driving license and drive back and forth from kid to kid. That would be great.”