Billy’s Story

I am really grateful that God made Housing Matters a part of my journey. This place was really a blessing to me on a miracle rescue mission that Jesus and I went on. Beginning with abuse, addiction, poverty, desperation, and homelessness and ending with healing, freedom, prosperity, and being housed. In the middle of my journey, I came through here at Housing Matters — and it was really a blessing to me.

I came to Housing Matters in 2017 and I was battling my addiction. I just wasn’t able to utilize any services. I didn’t have it in me. I couldn’t facilitate it. That’s really a barrier, it was hard to get help in the middle of addiction. I didn’t want to stop using yet, and that really held me back. 

I was an addict for 20 or 25 years [and at one point]there was a moment when the wool came off of my eyes and I looked around at the chaos and destruction that I had created. I looked at what I’d done: my family was destroyed, my life was destroyed and I just didn’t see any way out of it.

At that moment, I didn’t even want to use [drugs] anymore, but I was a woman possessed. I was like Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus cast seven demons. One night, I had finally stumbled out into the darkness and I looked up at the sky and said “I know you see me, I know you see me up there. Look at this mess down here. This is a catastrophe! I know you can fix it and I want you to get down here and fix it, right now!”. I really wasn’t very nice about it, I had had enough and needed help getting myself out of the mess. 

It was a grueling process. A process of obedience, becoming a sober spirit. But I had no choice. I couldn’t do what I was doing anymore. I had to flee from my sins. I thank God for places like the Salvation Army and the Adult and Teen Challenge for supporting me in my obedience. I was finally ready for help. I brought myself in there and this time I went in with the Holy Spirit. And that’s when doors started opening. 

I’ve been sober for four years now. It’s been a process of knowing which voice in my head to trust. Do I trust the voice that wants me to get out and go for a bike ride? Or the voice that wants me to have a cigarette? It is all about obedience. 

I was homeless on and off for at least 10 years because I was in a really abusive marriage. My husband would drink and I was in my own addiction. I grew up in a drug culture. My parents were addicts and alcoholics. My dad died from heroin overdose in a jail cell. My mom is still an alcoholic and I just grew up in a culture of that’s just what you did. We had a son and I tried to get clean and I would also try to convince my husband to do the same. He never would and instead he would get a restraining order against me and kick me out of the house. He knew how that affected me. It put me out on the street and I’d start using [drugs] again. It was a horrible loop. 

The anger was overpowering. Instead of looking for God I just fell into that temptation every time I’d go out into the street…because all the people I knew were on drugs.

I had that little voice in my head saying, it’s not gonna matter if you’re sober or not. Nobody needs you, nobody cares. I was listening to those lies for the longest time.

I was in and out of the house and with my husband. After he had kicked me out and filed a restraining order, he would tell me to come back and help take care of our son. I would go back every time but then he would call and have me arrested on the restraining order. At that point, because I had a criminal record, I couldn’t get a job. 

That went on for a while until I finally accepted that he wasn’t going to change. In January of 2022 he moved to Washington and I didn’t go with him. I instead made my way to Santa Cruz and I found a faith-based, sober living house with like-minded people. It’s peaceful and it’s really great over there. I feel like I’m in heaven. I live with four other like-minded women and we all get along great. 

Housing Matters has been a huge part of that journey. It’s a blessing and it’s here for anybody who wants to participate in their own restoration. For anybody who’s willing to participate, this is a really great environment where there are people who are willing to share energy with you and encourage you to make some changes in your life. 

What a gift after all of this, to get to land in a place that’s so nourishing and supportive. 

At Housing Matters, people can get their basic needs met so they can get their energy up. You get three meals a day, you get a bed to sleep in, rest, recuperate, and get your brain functioning so you can take the next steps. It’s huge!

I was in the Loft for a month. This place was a stepping stone. I had been in another shelter for about a year, I got sober and had a job. Being in the Loft gave me a bed to sleep in, food three times a day and I had the space finally to find a house. I could really take my time to find the place that I wanted, so that it would be sustainable. I was safe there. I had everything that I needed there. I could really take my time to find a place that was going to be sustainable for me, where I’m going to be able to be successful in life and have the support that I need.

I just got hired at the Salvation Army Shelter and am working as a shelter monitor on the graveyard shift. Now I can be a blessing in the community and my cup is full. I have the support in my community that I live in. I have Bible studies throughout the week that keeps me full so I can then go and overflow love onto people.

We were given this mountain to show other people that it could be moved. I fell down into a hole and had to climb out of it. That climbing got me strong. There were steps and things that needed to be done. I had to learn patience, perseverance, persistence, and all of those things will continue to be a blessing to me in the future in my life.

No matter how far down that we have fallen or what we have done, there is a God who loves us and if we call out to him, he will save us if we’re willing to participate in our own restoration.

This story was collected in June 2023 by Andrea Feltz, Community Conversations Program Manager

How do I recognize signs of an overdose?

• The person is unconscious and you can’t wake them.
• The person is breathing slowly or not at all.
• Lips or nails are turning blue.

What should I do if I see an overdose?

• Call 911 immediately!
• Say “I think someone may have overdosed. They aren’t breathing.”
• Use Narcan (the opioid overdose reversal drug) on the person, if you have it.
• If the person is not breathing and you know how, do rescue breathing (mouth-to-mouth) or chest compressions.
• Lay the person on their side once they resume breathing.