Success Stories

Many of your know Russell's story  and have been touched by his life, whether you are a volunteer at Gateway, have heard him speak with the Speakers' Bureau, or work with him as Gateway Staff.  We want to share an exciting new development is Russell's life!  Russell was recently certified as a Peer Specialist, and we are proud to announce that Gateway has hired Russell to work with our PATH tem in doing outreach to clients with mental health issues and/or clients who struggle with substance abuse.  We are so proud to call Russell a part of the Gateway Center team!  Below is an excerpt from an email thast one of our partners, Back on My Feet, sent out to their members...you can see how lovely it is to work with Russell and how many lives he has touched through these words: "Hi Everyone! We hope you are all having a wonderful week. It is always so amazing to see members moving forward.  You may have seen this post on Facebook, but I’d like to share again how proud we are of Russell Thurman, one of our Residential Members from Team Gateway. If you have ever run with Team Gateway or have ever been to an event with Russell present, you have likely been lucky enough to see his smiling face. Russell’s enthusiasm is simply infectious. Russell recently completed a two week training to become a Peer Specialist, which is a mentoring/counseling position for individuals with dual diagnoses (mental health and substance abuse). He has been hired as a Peer Specialist for the Gateway Center, and through this opportunity Russell will be able to serve and inspire so many other people. We are SO PROUD of this tremendous accomplishment!!"

One of our clients, Barry, shares his story in his own words: I was born in rural West Central Ohio- about half way between Toledo and Dayton.  We lived so far out in the country; we had to truck in sunshine.  I had a typical childhood…everyone in the family was dysfunctional.  After high school I continued my education at Ohio Northern University, one of the most prestigious private universities in the Midwest.  In 1972, one month after I turned 21, I passed my state boards and because one of the youngest licensed realtors in Ohio.  I was fortunate to have a great mentor and I was well on my way- my future was assured. I only associated with other salesmen who were more successful than i- I wanted to know what they knew and do what they did.  I emulated their work habits and I mimicked their social activities- and that included the consumption of alcohol. In 1976, I left real estate to pursue my sales career in other areas….and my drinking increased.  From time to time, my family and close friends suggested that I might have a drinking problem.  No way, not me.  I know how to drink just fine!  Besides, no matter how much I had to drink the night before, I was always at work the next day and I got the job done. Time passed and things became worse.  My drinking increased and minor indiscretions became major problems.  Problems bosses could no longer ignore.  Appropriate action needed to be taken, first came the verbal warnings, then the written reprimands, and, finally, the terminations. Each job loss brought a new pledge to stop drinking.  A period of sobriety, a new job, and life became good again.  It was easy for me to believe this qualified me to drink normally.  I resumed drinking, and for a while I was okay…but soon I was drinking as much as ever and eventually I was unable to hold a job. In 1772, I thought my future had been assured. By 2000, I had become a hopeless, helpless, homeless alcoholic. On December 23^rd, 2010, I entered the treatment/ recovery program at the Gateway Center.  Like rekindling a fire, the case managers at Gateway gave proper guidance patience and love to rekindle a glimmer of hope within me.  My goal every day is to keep my fire of recovery burning. As I get older, I dream of leaving the world a better place.  If I affect the life of just one other person in a positive way, I will have made a difference!

Today we are sharing a success story through the Regional Commission on Homelessness.  Thanks to the wonderful collaborative continuum of care, we are able to work with other service agencies to help end homelessness for families and individuals.  Read about Chris' story: Chris Spann was born in Marietta, GA in 1974. He and his two half-brothers were raised by his single mother and he remembers never having to go without and always getting what he wanted. Chris never dreamed he ...would become homeless. Chris first became homeless in 2010 due to many factors like lack of income and a substance abuse problem. “I felt pathetic,” he said. For two years, Chris stayed anywhere from hotels to the streets to shelter beds. “I just stayed wherever I could.” Last year things finally started to look up for Chris. One day while he was visiting the The Gateway Center for services, one of his peers suggested that he talk to someone from the Regional Commission on Homelessness’s PATH Team. He did, and started seeing a case manager who has now helped Chris connect with services for  his mental health and substance abuse issues. He also learned how to be self-sufficient. He moved into permanent housing in November, and couldn’t be happier. In his free time, he enjoys riding motorcycles and playing with his children. He’s most proud of his three children and his devotion to finding better solutions for his problems.   Thanks so much to the Regional Commission for being an invaluable partner!  Together, we can end homelessness.  One person at a time.    

Today's post is from our Volunteer Coordinator, Bec Cranford.  She recalls one fo the first clients she heped translate for at the Gateway Center: With a trash bag of belongings in one hand, and his cane holding his balance in the other Ernesto inched through the doors of the Gateway. The elderly man spoke little English, did not possess identification, and could not remember much about the past few weeks. He sat quietly in our client engagement center waiting to get a place to rest for the evening.  Tears rolled down his leathered face.  Ernesto could not remember where he resided before his arrival to Atlanta. He could not even recall how he got to Gateway, sometimes thinking he was currently in Miami or Charlotte. He suffered a major head injury as a result of a work related fall. He said his coworkers left him for dead. Caseworkers, coordinators, and partner agencies worked around the clock to help Ernesto. He would remember bits and pieces of his story occasionally and share them with anyone who would listen. It was very difficult to track down family or friends, but he remained confident that we could help him. Each day, Gateway would spend time with him double checking parts of his story and looking for leads to locate his family. We called hospitals, police stations, and post offices. Everything appeared to be a dead end. He never lost hope. He smiled at everyone with tenderness and called us “hermenitas” or “hermanos.” We really believed he meant it. He knew we were his brothers and little sisters, and that we could get him assistance. We worked with translators and specialists. We partnered with many agencies.  One day he recalled the name of a hotel where he had stayed during an extended work project in Charlotte. We searched the internet for hours. We located something similar, and called the number listed. They had no record of his stay. We thought it was another setback. We told him about Charlotte. Ernesto appeared to jump if not for his cane tying him to the ground when we expressed the possibility of returning to Charlotte. Our directors and case managers worked tirelessly to fill in the missing pieces.  Ernesto leaned on his cane and on my shoulder as we walked out to the bus stop one day. He suddenly recalled a name. The news became the breakthrough we needed. Now we had a name and a potential address. Our C.O.O. made calls to an agency in Charlotte who agreed to house Ernesto while he located his family. Every time we mentioned Charlotte to Ernesto he would grin from ear to ear and ask me, “When can I go home?” We were able to get Ernesto back to his precious Charlotte; a place where he could receive healthcare, a place where he had community, and a place where hope glimmered. He was slowly recalling his friends, family, church community and the time period before his accident. He regained some mobility in his arm, and his eyes seemed to hold new light. Ernesto gathered his belongings and boarded the Greyhound to Charlotte, thanks to the efforts of Gateway. He smiled from his window and say “Gracias, Hermanos.”

As featured in our August newsletter; here is Russell's story of success! Russell spent most of his adult life as a successful working man with a beautiful family. One day, however, he was introduced to cocaine. At first, he thought he could stop at any time. Then suddenly, his paycheck would go directly to support a weekend binge. His wife and children felt alienated. Cocaine enchanted him and became his priority over work, family and everything else. Soon, Russell found himself sleeping under bridges and in abandoned buildings- driven from his family and employment by his addiction. It wasn’t too long before Russell hit rock bottom.  After deciding that he was ready to end his addiction and homelessness, Russell came to the Gateway Center. He committed to a life of clarity and sobriety and began encouraging other men to do the same. Staff at Gateway quickly recognized Russell's leadership abilities and invited him to be a part of the Resident Assistant program. Russell continues to serve Gateway as a Resident Assistant in the Veterans’ Program on the fourth floor of the Gateway Center. He has reconciled with his family, and was able to see his daughter graduate from law school this past spring. Russell is now highly involved in his children's lives and now has a beautiful grandbaby who he gets to see regularly. He is a deacon in his church and also a member of the Back on My Feet running team at Gateway. Russell believes his faith and his support network through Gateway, and other agencies helped him to change directions in his life. Russell is currently attending a training to become a certified Peer Specialist and has the goal of working in social services.  

Reggie Miller's two teen boys and his 3-year-old daughter have kept him going over the past few months, which have been among the toughest in his entire life. Reggie, 47, worked and lived on-site as the maintenance man at an apartment complex near downtown Atlanta. He was proud of his work ethic, and says he often took the initiative to make small repairs or respond to a resident's request – even in the middle of the night. So when he was called into the office one Friday, he was shocked to learn he was being fired due to the worsening economic climate. His savings quickly dwindled, and Reggie soon found himself homeless. He was stunned. "This was my first time on the streets," he recalls. "I never thought I'd be in that position. It was tough just to find a place to use the restroom or wash my face." "You feel like a nobody. When it's raining, you have to get under a bridge. You get sick. It's cold out. There's no medicine. It gets to you." For several days, he went hungry. "I was too proud to go into a soup line," he says. "You're so ashamed. You don't want your friends or anyone to know what's going on." In January 2009, after three months on the street, Reggie was able to register at the Gateway Center. Reggie was happy to be off the streets, but he was wary about life in the center. On the street, he had to keep his guard up. At the Gateway, he worried about living with total strangers and not getting meals when he wanted them. He wasn't sure how he'd relate to the staff or how they'd react to him. After a few weeks, though, Reggie found that he wanted to return the kindness he received from those he encountered at the Gateway. "If I'm eating a meal, I walk around to make sure everyone else has their tray, too," Reggie says. Reggie spends time every day in the Training Program Center on the 3rd floor of the Gateway Center. There he looks for jobs that match his skill set. He immediately flags anything regarding maintenance work, but he's also scanning for warehouse opportunities. In the long term, he wants to get an HVAC license and get back to using his hands. "When I was working, I was dependable," Reggie says. He also schedules regular visits with his children. "They're what keeps me going," he says. "I want to reunite with my family. I miss waking up in the night and seeing my daughter and sons. I know somewhere, somehow, this is going to happen."