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JIMMY | “I was this horrible person that the drugs made me be”

JIMMY | “I was this horrible person that the drugs made me be”

Jimmy White “I was seven years old and I knew I wanted to smoke for the rest of my life. I started using marijuana on a regular basis and…
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Kathy Lovin
CLAY | “I never pictured a clean life while I was using.”

CLAY | “I never pictured a clean life while I was using.”

Clay “Cocaine is one of those strange drugs. It doesn’t like get you all inebriated and stuff. No, it kind of like makes you better…
Go to the profile of Kathy Lovin
Kathy Lovin
LYNN | “I became homeless. I was 12.”

LYNN | “I became homeless. I was 12.”

My mother was an eighteen-year-old unwed mother. I went to relatives here and there but there was nowhere for me to go. I became homeless…
Go to the profile of Kathy Lovin
Kathy Lovin
HECTOR | ‘If You’re real, I want to know You’

HECTOR | ‘If You’re real, I want to know You’

“I think I was maybe one of the most cynical people about church, and church people, and maybe even God. I had a stepfather who required us…
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Kathy Lovin
MARK | “Walk by faith not by sight”

MARK | “Walk by faith not by sight”

Mark “I was an infantry officer in Iraq, Desert Storm and I got out in 1991. Unfortunately I was beginning to lose my vision from…
Go to the profile of Kathy Lovin
Kathy Lovin
MIKE | “As long as Jesus has got a hand in it, anything is possible”

MIKE | “As long as Jesus has got a hand in it, anything is possible”

Mike “Just say no? Sometimes it’s hard to say no, especially when you’re an addict.
Go to the profile of Kathy Lovin
Kathy Lovin
KIM | I want people to know that homelessness doesn’t look a certain way

KIM | I want people to know that homelessness doesn’t look a certai...

“As far back as I can remember my dad would beat my mom; break her nose and black eyes and things like that.
Go to the profile of Kathy Lovin
Kathy Lovin
STEPHANIE | Celebrating 10 years of stability

STEPHANIE | Celebrating 10 years of stability

After Stephanie was released from jail, she put herself on the waiting list at SAFES, The Salvation Army’s Female Emergency Shelter (SAFES)…
Go to the profile of Kathy Lovin
Kathy Lovin
RICK & BOBETTE | From the river bottom; homeless

RICK & BOBETTE | From the river bottom; homeless

Rick “It gets ahold of you. If you didn’t have drugs, if you didn’t know how to get drugs, if you didn’t want to share your drugs, then I…
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Kathy Lovin
ROBERT | “I don’t have anything but bad”

ROBERT | “I don’t have anything but bad”

“I’m sitting there in prison and I just close my eyes I start praying. But I’m not praying to God. I’m saying, ‘satan, if you will have my…
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Kathy Lovin
THOMAS | Envisioned a giving revolution in his dorm room

THOMAS | Envisioned a giving revolution in his dorm room

Editor’s note: I met Thomas (on the right in the photo above) two years ago at a Thanksgiving event for The Salvation Army in Inglewood…
Go to the profile of Kathy Lovin
Kathy Lovin
HEIDI & JEREMY | Every house in their neighborhood burned down but one

HEIDI & JEREMY | Every house in their neighborhood burned down but one

In the summer of 2013 the Black Forest fire burned 14,280 acres and destroyed more than 500 homes on its way to becoming the most…
Go to the profile of Kathy Lovin
Kathy Lovin
JOHN | Memories of 9–11

JOHN | Memories of 9–11

“In September 2001, I was deployed to our Salvation Army headquarters in New York to coordinate staff and volunteers serving at 9–11 under…
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Kathy Lovin
ANGIE | The Salvation Army taught me how to use my money wisely

ANGIE | The Salvation Army taught me how to use my money wisely

Angie: “When I was on the island Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia I had my two kids, a boy and a girl.
Go to the profile of Kathy Lovin
Kathy Lovin
DENNIS | ‘One’s too many and a thousand’s not enough.’ That was written for me.

DENNIS | ‘One’s too many and a thousand’s not enough.’ That was wri...

“My name is Dennis. I am a member of the Santa Monica Salvation Army Corps [church]. It’s a major, major, major part of my being.
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Kathy Lovin
WILSON | ‘Every day of my life I wake up so happy I’m not drunk’

WILSON | ‘Every day of my life I wake up so happy I’m not drunk’

“Yeah, there’s something about being out on the ocean. The intensity of Mother Nature.
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Kathy Lovin
MARK | The watershed moment that lead him out of homelessness

MARK | The watershed moment that lead him out of homelessness

Mark W is a 33 year old from Alaska. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Mark also holds a B.S in Psychology from Alaska…
Go to the profile of Kathy Lovin
Kathy Lovin
JOSE | “I’m proud of my dad because he’s there for me now”

JOSE | “I’m proud of my dad because he’s there for me now”

This is music to Jose’s ears:
Go to the profile of Kathy Lovin
Kathy Lovin
CHARLES | “I’d be in jail, an institution, or dead”

CHARLES | “I’d be in jail, an institution, or dead”

“I graduated from The Salvation Army’s drug and alcohol program 5 years ago, in April 2011.
Go to the profile of Kathy Lovin
Kathy Lovin
HELEN | Credited with introducing the donut to American tastebuds

HELEN | Credited with introducing the donut to American tastebuds

If you’re a fan of the crispy, sweet confection known as the donut, you have Salvation Army Adjutant Helen Purviance and her crew of “Donut…
Go to the profile of Kathy Lovin
Kathy Lovin
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