Looking back can be an essential tool in life as those reflections often teach us our greatest lessons. It’s how Richard Larkin Jr. says he was able to face his alcohol addiction.
“It’s making a big difference,” said Larkin Jr., a client at Crossroads. “I pretty much lost everything…I got away from it, and came back to it, and it stuck for a few years…I felt like I needed it to function, so...I was a functioning alcoholic.”
Larkin Jr. says alcohol became a numbing bandage for the little boy still hurting within for years.
“I’ve been going back to those childhood memories…my foundation and my beliefs were based on trauma," he said.
Just like Jimmy Thompson, the addiction tried to take their lives.
“I found a bag of fentanyl and I OD’d, and I died,” Thompson said. “When I went to the hospital, that scared me.”
That fear brought on desperation to heal, and eventually, it led them to The City Mission’s Crossroads Men’s Crisis Center.
“When I got here, I was spiritually broken,” said Thompson. “I fight some of the demons of the past.”
Now, their transformation is rooted in restored faith, brotherhood, staff support, and new teachings in partnership with Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C). Through the college’s Workforce Success Course, the men learn how to manage difficult work environments, resume building, and interview prep for free.
“Getting that sense of ownership of something that they never had before and not getting passed on by society and that whole aspect of it – we’re picking the pieces up and helping them out,” said Abdul Dollar, Workforce Developer Specialist.
Dollar shared that 75 men have successfully gone through the Workforce Success Course. Still, the journey to recovery is not easy. Yet, they are healing, and are being equipped with knowledge to help them look forward.
“I don’t need to drink alcohol to try to cover up the pain because it’s not there anymore,” said Larking Jr. “Today is 117 days without a drink.”
The goal for the men, after recovery, is to secure gainful employment. Dollar said it is a key part of the transformative work done by The City Mission.
On Sept. 28, the group is hosting a career expo at Tri-C from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The expo will be held inside the MCC Building at 2900 Community College Avenue. For more information, call 216-920-4133. You can also send an email to adollar@thecitymission.org or jmason@fairfaxdev.org.
