Richmond - Dear Editor: Five years ago, I was living on the streets in Richmond. I had been living that way for about three years when a group of church kids came down to the bottle depot where a bunch of us used to hang out and drink.
Richmond - Dear Editor: Five years ago, I was living on the streets in Richmond. I had been living that way for about three years when a group of church kids came down to the bottle depot where a bunch of us used to hang out and drink.After meeting one of these kids I started thinking about getting sober. This conversation led to a chain of events that got me into an alcohol recovery program.I later found out that they were part of a church that came to the bottle depot on Sundays with hot meals for us street people, and that the service they were providing was called Hand up to Hope. I give full credit to this organization for helping me to find my sobriety after 34 years of drinking.It has been four and a half years since my last drink and during this time I have been a part of Hand up to Hope. Unfortunately, due to health issues with the organizer, the meals have been reduced to once per month instead of weekly.It is my greatest hope that someone else or the City of Richmond will step in to provide the help needed to those who live on the streets of Richmond.Once again without the help provided to me, I would have probably died on the street. So, with my deepest respect, I wish to thank all those involved.Michael GoslingRichmond
