Rickie (assumed name) has been a regular guest for several months now. He’s mostly respectful and appreciative of our service, but he can be very aloof, detached and inattentive. Admittedly, he shows up very high most days. And when he’s high, it’s very hard to get him to focus, to clean up after himself and to communicate coherently.

While Rickie is caught up in an addiction (see PS below) to weed, he does at times talk about getting a job and getting off the streets. This week we were able to move him into one of the local safe sleep sites, a place where he can stabilize and be part of a supportive community. While making the move I learned more of his story. He shared vivid memories from around age 5, of his parents constant fighting and then moving out with his Mom and sister. He then talked about his Mom’s constant partying, being left home alone and her regularly bringing men home.

Rickie, like so many of the young people we serve, was abandoned as a child. And when he grew up, he discovered how to medicate the pain he felt of feeling unloved, uncared for and neglected. While an addiction to weed seems better than an addiction to harder drugs, it is still very real and can be very destructive. Rickie stated, “I need to quit smoking so much weed, but I really like the high”.

Rickie knows what he needs to do and has begun to make some better choices. Please pray for him, that he will get the help he needs and stay focused in moving toward a life of health and purpose.

PS – Re a marijuana addiction, some refer to it as Marijuana Use Disorder: https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/health-effects/addiction.html