A veteran's story: Recovery at Third Street

Andrew’s promising career as a sonar technician in the Navy was cut short when he became addicted to crack cocaine at age 25. He lost not only his job, but also friends, financial stability, and the roof over his head. Now, our Recovery Center at Third Street is helping Andrew get his life back in order.

Founded in 1969, the Recovery Center was the nation’s first outpatient clinic for homeless adults struggling with addiction.

For Andrew, who is still homeless, it is a welcoming place where he learns to cope with substance use disorder, bipolar disorder, and PTSD.

“The Recovery Center has shown me that wellness can be a million different things—eating right, exercising, listening to music when I need to calm down, even learning to breathe the right way,” he notes

Now drug-free for over three months, he has a steady job delivering food and he has signed up for our Next Step Internship Program to pursue a career in human services. He plans to move into his own place in Queens.

“I’m a very proactive person and Project Renewal helped me be very proactive about recovery,” Andrew says