Meet our Resident - David
David has been in our program for almost six months now and currently holds the title of men's program manager. The responsibilities of this role include: resolving any conflicts amongst the men in the program, scheduling appointments, making sure chores are done, and just generally overseeing the day-to-day operations on the men's side of Steelbridge.
Just six months ago, all of this would have seemed impossible to David.
David grew up in Rosewell, NM with his Mom, Dad, and five brothers. He was a good kid growing up he went to church, read the Bible, and stayed out of trouble as much as possible. David wasn’t interested in drinking or partying as he was an athlete and focused all his attention on being the best he could at sports.
After graduating high school, he was awarded several scholarships at different D2 schools to play football but decided to walk on at UNM instead. It was during this time that he started casually drinking and smoking with his friends while attending college and playing football. David kept his partying under control but continued to drink throughout his senior year. After his senior year when he wasn’t concerned about performing in football anymore, he left the weed behind and decided he wanted to try cocaine. He recalls that his addiction escalated quickly, and eventually he was hiding it from his friends and family. Sneaking off to bathrooms to get high, and further fueled his addiction.
David’s life quickly spun out of control, and he got his first DWI charge four years ago. It was after he spent a short amount of time in jail that he decided it was time to cut out church completely, stop reading the bible, and spend all of his attention focusing on work and dealing with his DWI.
The next couple of years were a blur of bad decisions. He continued to drink and do coke which led to several more DWI’s, and jail time. A diagnosis of alcohol-induced diabetes and stage one Cirrhosis of the liver, sleeping out by dumpsters, and getting his daughter taken from him did not stop his drinking. It's grip was too strong.
That’s why on August 7th, 2021 his mother and brothers sat him down in a hotel room and told him that he needed help and they were going to take him to Legacy Church to talk to some men who had already been through Steelbridge’s program. He agreed but even though he knew he had a problem, he didn’t believe he was an alcoholic, and decided to go into the program for 10 days to prove to his family that he was fine.
On August 9th, 2021 he entered our program. After his first Bible class, David remembers praying to God for the first time in a long time and asking Him for peace in his heart and a new perspective on life. After just seven days in the program, God opened his eyes to all the peace he had here, and he knew in that having God back in his life was the only way he was going to survive.
David quickly got back into the Bible, got his memory back (which was spotty from the years of drugs and drinking), and his diabetes subsided. He has started healing his relationships, and has begun to teach and disciple the other men in the program.
Once his time at Steelbridge comes to an end, David plans to counsel people who have gone through similar trials and give them hope for a brighter future. He truly believes Steelbridge has been the best choice he’s ever made.
