VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — Being on the streets can take people down a troubling turn.
“I thought for a while that l lost my soul,” Roger Stennett, who experienced homelessness and is on the road to recovery, said. “I was becoming someone that I taught my kids never to be. I started turning into that thief, drug dealer and drug user. For a while, I thought my soul was gone.”
ABC 10News first spoke with Stennettat the end of November. He was among the many unhoused people at an event on Giving Tuesday.
Stennett experienced homelessness and battled addiction in Ocean Beach and another place in San Diego. He would later start his road to recovery at that event in Pacific Beach, where he accepted a sleeping bag coat from the Lucky Duck Foundation.
Stennett received an invitation off the street from We See You San Diego and eventually arrived at Green Oak Ranch in Vista, putting himself on a brighter and better path.
“It’s transforming my whole life,” Stennett said.
A moment to go to the nine-month faith-based recovery program was one Stennett wasn’t sure he was ready for until the moment happened.
“I wanted to see if my soul was still intact. That I still had a relationship with God, and I do. So, it’s vital to have a place like this when you’re ready,” Stennett said.
Stennett’s recovery coach at Green Oak Ranch sees he is more than ready to walk this new path.
“My father himself struggles with addiction, and he’s beating himself up. So watching Roger, you know, who’s around the same age and watching him do; it gives me hope that he and so many others like him are able to have the courage and strength to continue on,” Michael McShea, Recovery Coach at Green Oak Ranch said.
Stennett told ABC 10News he never thought this would all come from a night of saying yes to a sleeping bag coat and helping hand.
“But at that moment, God was speaking to me through you and through the lens and that this place was calling for me and that I’d accept,” Stennett said.
While there’s hope for Stennett, he also has hope for others looking for a path off the street.
“I say there’s a lot of hope and a lot of promise for the people that are homeless. If they want help, then God is there,” Stennett said.
