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When Reno was nine, his oldest brother died by suicide. “He was my protector and took me under his wing,” Reno says. “My brother was the one who protected me from my abusive father.” Sadly, the tragedy and abuse that continued without his brother’s protection impacted Reno deeply. By age 13, his parents had divorced and Reno started turning to alcohol. “Alcohol was everywhere all the time,” he says, both at his mom and stepdad’s house and at his father’s house on the weekends. “My father was always at the bar with his friends, and I was always out with my friends partying.”
Reno tried secular rehab after his daughter’s birth but knew he would keep drinking. The turning point didn’t come until years later, when he quit his long-term construction job and his drinking escalated.
“I realized that God brought me here. I felt God saying, I’ve got more for you."
He drank to numb the pain of his past and found himself thinking about suicide constantly. Thankfully, a friend took him to the hospital, which guided him to our doors at Wyoming Rescue Mission. After spending several weeks detoxing, Reno joined our Discipleship Recovery Program.
He found God, a supportive community and tools to help rebuild his life. “I was broken but they brought me in, and gave me a hand up, not a handout,” he says. “They gave me faith in myself. I’m grateful that they believed in me and saw in me what I couldn’t see yet.”
Now Reno has faith, hope and a willingness to apply himself to God’s work. He wants to give back and make a difference in the lives of others going through addiction and recovery. This Easter, Reno has a new direction for his life. Thank you for lighting the path forward for him to experience a future of hope and peace! “You helped save my life and I can never repay that.”
