True transformation doesn't happen overnight, but when it does, it changes lives—and our apprentice Severino is living proof of that.
Reflecting on our time together, Severino said: "I feel so good about being here. I feel trusted. When I was using, I didn't care if I live or die. I'm happy that I got caught because I needed to change. If I had stayed the same, I would've died because of my health. For these two years that I've been clean and sober, my life has changed, I turned my life around so good. I didn't have this type of community in my life before; my community before was all drugs. But this community, everybody's clean and sober. We were there before using, and now we've changed and we're trying to move forward in our lives."
Our Executive Director Robin also shared, "We've seen a dramatic change in Severino. He's now full of life and hope, and he has so much enthusiasm about his work with us and KUC."
In addition to working in the kitchen, Severino has been busy beautifying the sprawling KUC campus.
"We'll keep Severino on as long as we can have him because he has been totally, totally a benefit to us. It's longtime past since we were helping him; he's now helping us," said KUC Senior Pastor Jonathan Steeper. "He's always here early, he does his job, he communicates. When Severino leaves, we're missing a really good team player for our other workers. He's now an anchor point. I've been very excited with Severino and what I've seen. It's been over an extended period of time and it's been also through the eyes of his coworkers, and he's highly respected. I love him as a brother and as a friend."
"The life I have now is much more better than those 40 years I was using," Severino said. "These past two years that I've been clean and sober—that's the best two years of my entire life."
Together, with your support, we're truly transforming lives, one heart at a time.