Hi Friend,

My name is James.* I’ve been with East House for over 30 years. I’m a hard worker and I love helping others. When I was in my early 20s, my mental health disorder started to take over my life. I couldn’t hold on to my full time job at a bank, I lost my housing and ended up in a boarding house. That’s when I found East House. With the support of my counselors, I was able to move into my apartment, where I’ve now lived for two decades, was connected to treatment, and eventually got a stable job that I loved at a grocery store. That job empowered me to graduate from Social Security Disability to living entirely off of my own wages.

Everything was going so well—until suddenly it wasn’t. One day, my job changed and I was moved to another department at the grocery store. That move triggered panic attacks and so after 20 years, I quit my job and tried to go it alone. Despite having saved money, I was completely tapped out within a month. Then I made a tough decision, I decided to ask for help again.

East House was immediately supportive. I was able to access their Housing Emergency Support fund, which covered rent, phone and utility bills, and my medication for one month. My counselor regrouped with me and connected me to resources like a local food bank. He also nudged me to talk to my former employer, who went out of their way to retain me because of my amazing work record. With East House’s help, I was able to get back on course and avoid catastrophe. Later on, I decided I wanted to give back, so I donated food to that food bank and earmarked part of my first resumed paycheck to East House.

The fact that I had such a long, trusted relationship with my East House counselor helped me bounce back. From the first moment I entered an East House program almost three decades ago, my counselor supported me without judgment. When I was at my lowest point, he told me, “Just because you’re struggling now, doesn’t mean everything you’ve accomplished is gone. It’s still here, all of it. All your hard work and gains are still yours.”

Any other social service could have cut me off long ago. East House’s long term partnership with a light touch, which changed to meet my needs, helped keep everything from collapsing when I needed it most. My counselor helped me develop important building blocks of my life when we first met, and then I used those blocks to build myself back up decades later.

For that, I’m very grateful.

Will you consider partnering with people like me by supporting East House? By donating, you are empowering others on every step of their recovery journey – no matter how long it takes. East House helped me get my life back, and I know it will for so many others.

Thank you for your partnership.

James' Recovery Journey

By East House

James' Recovery Journey