Joe's Story

A raw January evening brought the usual number of guests to the evening dinner table at the River House. There was something particularly ill-at-ease about one man, a new face around the table, who didn't want to talk to any of his fellow guests.

Nancy, one of the River House staff, went to welcome the newcomer. When he introduced himself as Joe, Nancy smelled alcohol on his breath, so she outlined River House's sobriety guidelines.

Finally, Joe began to open up. Like many people, a homeless shelter was the last place Joe ever expected to be. He had just 'fallen-off-the-wagon' after three years of sobriety. Divorced, he had also lost his job, but his mother had given him the money to rent accommodations until he got another job. But when the landlord learned that Joe was unemployed, he evicted his new tenant.

Around the now-empty dinner table, Nancy broached the topic of alcoholism, the wreckage it brings, plus the availability of local treatment facilities.

All that week, Joe seemed glassy-eyed and sad. When he disappeared, Nancy wondered what had happened. Then one night, there he was at dinner again, smiling and clear-eyed. Joe had been to a detox. The following week, he reported he had a job interview, which landed him a job.

For the next few weeks, despite new-job stresses, Joe stayed at the River House and stayed sober.

With his first paycheck, Joe rented a place of his own-but not before one last visit to River House to pick up his things and to say a warm thank-you to the place that helped him get on his feet.

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