SYLVESTER FOUNTAIN, CLIENT

Growing up in Brooklyn and on Valentine Avenue in the Bronx, Sylvester Fountain learned to cop a tough attitude. Sometimes his street smarts served him well. Other times they led him into trouble.

A few months ago, he had steady work in downtown Atlanta. But when the economy began to worsen, Sylvester lost his job. He depleted his savings.

Within weeks, he lost his apartment. His addiction to cocaine didn't help.

A caseworker suggested he apply to the Gateway Center, which was experiencing unusually high demand. But one morning Sylvester managed to register for an open bed. That meant he had to enter a pre-treatment program and make big changes in his life.

"I always tried to do things my way and then…BOOM! Destruction comes. So I decided maybe I needed to change that," Fountain said.

At the Gateway, the staff asked him to abide a simple principle: We'll do our part, if you do your part.

Sylvester, 54, gradually realized that as he kept his promises, he could trust his caseworkers to uphold their end of the bargain. One day at a time, he discovered that he could let go of some of this old habits, including his cocaine use.

"I had to learn how to be humble," Sylvester says. "That wasn't in my dictionary."

Now, Sylvester has set new goals for himself: getting a job, training to be a paramedic, and taking up cooking. He also wants to move into his own place.

"Not [a] rooming house, either," Sylvester says, smiling at the thought. "An apartment of my own."