Matt came back to the Mission in December 2023, 15 years after he came the first time.

The Mission has helped him renew his connection with God

Nearing completion of the Enhanced Program construction track, Matt feels that all the pieces of his life have finally come together. “I feel a clarity that had been missing for so long and I’ve regained my connection to God,” he said recently. “I’m sober, engaged to my son’s mom, and surrounded with support and love.”

Matt grew up on a lemon ranch in Oxnard with four brothers and one sister. “It was beautiful,” he said. “Our house sat in the middle of the groves and my life-long love of gardening started there.”

Though his parents divorced when he was 8, Matt describes his childhood as loving and nurturing. Once in high school, however, Matt began drinking a little and smoking pot with his friends. “I wasn’t into any of it too heavily, and I managed to finish and graduate, even if it took me a little longer than it should have.”

Out of high school Matt found himself with lots of free time and he began experimenting with LSD and ecstasy. “I was still living with my dad and working here and there, but my main focus was on skateboarding and partying with my friends,” he said. “My parents weren’t happy with where I was headed, but I didn’t see it that way.”

Matt says he “wised-up” a little when he got into his mid 20s. “I guess I had managed to mature a little despite all I had been doing,” he said. Working as a maintenance painter, Matt was able to keep his life focused for a few years until his drinking progressed and he was fired from his job.

“My employers gave me lots of chances,” he said. “They really wanted me to succeed but I was unable to quit.” It was at this time that Matt discovered meth and things got truly bad for the first time. “It’s crazy how fast I went downhill. That drug is terrible, but I was hooked.” Matt was caught attempting to break into a house and ended up doing three months in jail.

Once out he entered a treatment program in San Diego. Deciding that he didn’t like being so far from home however, he left after a few weeks and found himself homeless. His stepmom sent him money to get home on the condition that he get into a program in Oxnard, so Matt came to the Rescue Mission in the fall of 2009.

Feeling that he had learned what he needed to, Matt left the program after three months. He found a job at Subway and met his future fiancée but soon was drinking again. “I was off meth,” he said, “but I just couldn’t stop drinking. In my mind, though, I felt I was good.” His fiancée, however, had had enough and Matt was convinced to seek help again. He returned here in 2018 and completed the program and moved into the Mission’s transitional living apartments.

Matt stayed sober for five years and during that time he and his fiancée had a son. “Things were looking pretty good for me for a while, but then Covid hit and I relapsed. It was like I hadn’t learned one thing about how to stay sober, especially when life got a little tough.” Matt returned to the Mission in December 2023 determined to finally get it right.

Reflecting on the last nine months, Matt credits several things for making a big difference in his recovery this time around. “The Genesis Process has helped me get to the sources of my addictions which has been truly helpful.” And he likes how the FASTER Scale (which lays out the steps and warning signs leading to relapse), keeps him alert to problems. “I notice my anxiety and confusion so much quicker now and things that might have led to a relapse in the past instead lead to discussions with my chaplain and counselors.”

Matt also has a renewed love for God’s word and for church. “Church is so big for me now,” he said. “And my connection to others is so important for my sobriety. I have a mentor, a spiritual advisor, and a sponsor now and that’s amazing to me!” In addition to church, Matt also attends Celebrate Recovery meetings and Re-Mend meetings at Church for the Nations.

After completing the program, Matt plans on finding employment in the painting/construction industry, getting married, and being a good father to his son. Matt looks forward to the life God has intended for him. “I now have the things that were missing in my life. And with God’s grace and mercy, I will always have those things: my family, my community of support, and a desire to lean on God at all times.”

A week after he was interviewed for this story, Matt was hired as a Painter Maintenance Technician.