Growing up, Rudy watched alcohol addiction kill his dad. Determined not to follow that path, he only drank socially and could always stop when he wanted. That changed the year his mom died.
“When she died in 2007, I grabbed hold of the bottle,” Rudy says. “I eventually turned like my father.”
Rudy couldn’t stop drinking and, as a result, he ended up living on the streets, apart from his wife and children.
“I was out there for about three years, pushing a cart, dumpster diving, all that kind of stuff,” Rudy says. “It was bad.”
Desperate for Transformation
Wanting to get sober and live a new life, Rudy went to several 90-day programs and halfway houses.
“I still left void,” he says. “It wouldn’t take long before I was back into my addiction.”
Rudy’s life and health continued to crumble again and again. But then, his son, Rudy Jr., who was also battling addiction, ended up going through Phoenix Rescue Mission’s recovery program.
“His change was immediate,” Rudy says.
After graduating, Rudy Jr. encouraged his dad to go to the Mission, too. Rudy realized if he stayed on the streets and kept drinking, he’d die. Seeing the incredible transformation in his son gave him hope. He agreed to try the Mission’s program.
It’s Not Religion, It’s Relationship
Having been born a Jehovah’s Witness and taking a lot of religious training, Rudy thought he knew everything there was to know about religion.
“I came here with a lot of Bible knowledge,” he says.
But that knowledge didn’t transform him because he wasn’t letting Jesus into his heart.
“I didn’t know until I came here, that what you need is a relationship with Him,” Rudy says. “That’s what I did here. That’s what was missing with these other places.”
Breaking the Cycle
After graduating from our program in 2024, Rudy obtained his CDL license and now works for a trucking company. He and his wife are back together and celebrated 33 years of marriage in October.
Together they spend as much time with Rudy Jr. and the rest of their family as possible.
“We’re going to break that chain of addiction,” Rudy says. “This way my grandchildren don’t continue to do that.”
Rudy knows that the only reason he is healthy, healed, and whole is because of God working through the generosity of friends like you.
