Grateful for the Journey

When Mario reflects on his journey, one word comes up again and again: grateful.

Not because the road has been easy. Not because everything is perfect now. But because after everything he has lived through—incarceration, addiction, homelessness, and starting over more than once—he can look at where he is today and say with honesty, “I’m very grateful.”

Mario spent much of his life in and out of prison, including a 10-year sentence during his last incarceration. When he was released, he was determined to build a different life. He completed New Freedom, found work, and began saving every dollar he could. He bought his first car and, at nearly 40 years old, got his driver’s license for the first time.

For Mario, those were major milestones. He had worked hard for them. But even with a job, money, and a car, he was lonely. Over time, that loneliness and frustration pulled him back into drinking. What started slowly became a relapse, and eventually everything began to unravel. He spent his savings, his cars broke down, and before long, he had lost everything and was living on the streets of downtown Phoenix.

But even in that season, Mario knew something had to change.

Mario knew alcohol and drugs would only pull him deeper into the cycle he was trying to escape.

“It would only compound my problem,” he said.

So while he was homeless, Mario stopped drinking and using. He began showing up for day labor, taking jobs whenever he could and saving what little he earned. One day, when he was told he needed boots to be sent out on a job, a church gave him a Walmart gift card so he could buy a pair. He kept working. He kept saving. He kept moving forward.

“I just kept going,” Mario said.

During that time, he also began helping serve meals to people experiencing homelessness in downtown Phoenix. Through those connections, he met people who encouraged him and pointed him toward House of Refuge Sunnyslope. A former resident mentioned the program to him, and later Diane whom he helped serve the homeless with invited him to House of Refuge Sunnyslope.

By the time Mario made the decision to enter House of Refuge Sunnyslope, he had already saved enough money to pay for his background check and initial costs because he had continued working and preparing for an opportunity.

Once in the program, Mario kept doing what he had already learned to do: work hard, stay sober, and keep going. He worked multiple jobs and continued helping feed people downtown on his days off. Little by little, he rebuilt his life.

And through it all, he remained sober.

Today, Mario graduated from House of Refuge Sunnyslope and is living in his own one-bedroom apartment. He works three jobs, pays his own rent and utilities, and is learning what it looks like to build a stable life one step at a time. He still has goals for the future. He still has hard days. But he also knows how far God has brought him.

“I knew God…He was with me always,” Mario said.

When asked how he’s doing now, Mario doesn’t rush to say life is perfect. In fact, he says he doesn’t know if “happy” is the right word yet. But he knows this much:

“I’m very grateful.”

He’s grateful for sobriety. Grateful for work. Grateful for a home of his own. Grateful for the stress that has lifted. Grateful for the people God placed in his life. Grateful that his story did not end on the streets.

Mario’s story is one of perseverance, but it is also one of gratitude. He knows what it means to lose everything. He knows what it takes to rebuild. And today, because of

God’s faithfulness, his own determination, and the support of House of Refuge Sunnyslope, Mario is living proof that restoration is possible.

He’s still moving forward. Still rebuilding. Still trusting God with what comes next.

And, as Mario says, he just keeps going.