Moving Forward

"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs" Isaiah 58:11a

Finding Freedom on the Journey Home
Strong Life has had the great honor of seeing extraordinary progress from our men in our transitional program. We are happy to share how God has blessed their hard work and dedication to move forward.

Our friend Thomas is a great example of someone taking the next step. Thomas came to us out of a tent over a year ago. He was battling drug addiction but came to a turning point where we could tell he wanted his life to be different. He transitioned into our program at Strong Life and quickly started working in the furniture industry. We started encouraging him and building his self-esteem in his own walk with God. He found a great church that supported him. He paid off thousands in fines and debt and saved up to buy a scooter for transportation last fall. We saw his resilience as he moved through each phase of our program. Earlier this year we took all our guys to a pizza party to celebrate his 1 year of sobriety. After looking for permanent housing for several months with no results he was holding steady and holding onto hope God would provide. This past week, we were able to link him up with a private landlord to have an apartment to call his own. When asked what Strong Life meant to him, he said “I have never felt closer to God than my time here at Strong Life.”

On the Road to Success
There are currently two men in our transitional program who are working hard and have saved to get transportation for themselves. In a time where finding permanent housing has become incredibly difficult, it is a great feat for these men to obtain transportation. This allows them to look for housing in other areas as no low-income or low-cost housing is currently available in Hickory. Having a vehicle helps them continue to get to resources, family, and work. Used vehicles have certainly increased in price so we think this is a well-recognized asset for our men to own and not be in debt.

Like the transportation that will greatly help and encourage these men, we at Strong Life have a strong desire to be the vehicle for people in need. We want to get them where they want to go in life. To journey with them to a greater destination and the plan God has for their life. Our Men's program director Jacob Inman has faithfully served this past year to do just that. He has shown God’s direction and grace to these men so they can obtain their goals and be successful. In this, we are incredibly thankful to him and to what God is doing in the lives of those in need around us.

Please pray for us as we are looking for a new housing manager for our men's program and reach out via our email if you know of anyone who may be interested in joining our team.