If you come down to CityTeam some evening, you'll see hungry and homeless people from all over the community lining up for a meal. You'll also probably see Michael.

But Michael is neither hungry nor homeless.

So why is he in line? Because he's out greeting others as they arrive for meals and shelter.

You see, Michael has rebuilt his life at CityTeam. And he wants each person in that line to know that our community cares and wants to help--just as we did him.

"As I greet each person," Michael says, "I remember when I was one of these men. Now I want to encourage them that they too can have hope and faith to get off the streets and change their lives. "I'm PLANTING SEEDS."

It wasn't that long ago that Michael himself was in desperate need. Deeply hooked on drugs, far away from family and utterly hopeless, he struggled just to survive. But thanks to caring friends like you from across the U.S., all of that is behind him now.

"I was living on the streets and eating out of garbage cans," he says. "Drugs had a strong hold on me and wouldn't let go, no matter how hard I tried. I did drugs to hide my pain. No one should live like that."

An electrician by trade, he picked up day work from time to time. But his addiction prevented him from holding a permanent job. Sometimes Michael would have money for a hotel room. But other nights he would sleep on the streets away from the crowds, hiding in shame.

It was a lonely and miserable existence. Michael always worried about getting beat up for the few dollars he had in his pocket.

After five years of homelessness, brushes with death and body-wracking addiction, Michael had finally reached the darkest point in his life and wanted to get help. HE called home and said, "Mom, I just want to come home and fix my life. But I don't know how."

His mother had been praying for years that he was still alive. But she wasn't equipped to help her son. She heard of CityTeam from her pastor and started making desperate calls for Michael to travel home and get into our Discipleship and Recovery Programs.

Michael has made remarkable progress in the past two years. "CityTeam has given me a better understanding of who I am." Michael says. "They have given me tools that I can use. I’m learning how to live without drugs and alcohol. I’m getting better at asking for help."

Michael believes that CityTeam’s programs is different from others. "The passion of the staff, " he says, "is true and honest." H He points out that his counselor has spent more than 100 hours of one –on-one time with him, talking abut his actions and experiences to help Michael understand why he needed to use drugs.

"Growing up, I was a runner just like my dad," he says. "And not the good kind! I ran from fights. I ran from confrontation and my mom. Drugs and alcohol were my escape." But through your compassionate partnership, Michael has come to grips with his problems, asked forgiveness of those he hurt and has purposed to change. He’s thriving in an environment where God’s grace is shown on a daily basis.

"At this point," says Michael, "I have healthy choices. I am very grateful to CityTeam for giving me the real tools and process to move ahead in my life. I have dreams that I never had before."

I am thankful to the people who support this ministry", he says. Without them, I wouldn’t have any chance at life. If I didn’t have CityTeam, it would have been over for me. I would have probably died without anyone knowing."

"So many people walk away from the homeless, especially someone who doesn’t have clean clothes, whose hair is long and dirty," he says. "You have to look beyond and realize there is a real person under all that, a person who has feelings, a person who is scared and in need."

Michael has walked in those shoes. And that’s why he continues to greet others as they come for a meal or shelter. He’s looking for someone who is ready to ask, "Can you help me turn my life around?"