A few weeks ago we were at Lacey Amos’ office when I got a text from John. We’ve known John, who is in his late 20s, for the past six years or so as he has struggled with an ongoing heroin addiction.

I texted him back and told him that I was at Lacey’s office. It took about 5 seconds for my phone to ring.

“Hello…”

“Put Lacey on the phone.”

Lacey is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) we’ve partnered with over the years and has counseled a number of our people.

A few years ago, John saw her on a weekly basis.

But he relapsed and wasn’t around as much for a while. Then we heard from him and stayed in contact, even hanging out every now and then. Since then, he’s gotten clean here and there and has also gone through a number of relapses. But we never totally lost contact with him.

Through relapses and other ups and downs, it’s important that we work to maintain positive relationships that support change without enabling.

These are the moments when so many lose their other support systems and fall through the cracks.

Lately John is doing really well.

When he heard that I was talking to Lacey, he immediately wanted to catch up with her. He told her all about what he’s been doing recently, how long he’s been clean, and how work was going. They chatted for about 5 minutes and it was so cool to hear the excitement in his voice.

That interaction is such a beautiful testimony of how valuable Lacey’s work with him was.

It’s easy to see all that counseling as a waste or to think it didn’t “work” because of his relapses.

But our paths forward are not linear…

Mistakes we make now don’t invalidate the investment and impact people made on our lives in the past. The groundwork Lacey was able to lay with John has made an impact on where he is now. That was evident in his eagerness and joy in talking to her and sharing what’s going on in his life today.

Access to professional care like this is limited for the demographic we work with. Finances, transportation, and their current mental state all hinder their ability to receive the mental health care they so desperately need.

We’re working hard to eliminate these barriers and get our people this critical care.

Learn more about our work urbanpurpose.org/care.