Twitter Sign up for our newsletter Contact East Oakland Community Project What We Do Success Stories Who We Are Donate Volunteer Employment News Finding Inner Strength Mr. Goode was not new to EOCP when he entered the program in June of 2009. He had been incarcerated and wanted to exit to a familiar environment which brought him back to EOCP for the fourth time in four years. Living with AIDS and with a T-Cell count of 13, he presented a classic case of, “being sick and tired of being sick and tired.” As Mr. Goode stared down his future, he knew that a change was required to improve his health, which included his battle with drugs. He struggled with living in emergency housing because on the street and in prison disputes were settled with violence. Learning to think and talk, instead of fighting was a challenge he learned to overcome, with a great deal of support from case management and substance abuse counseling. Mr. Goode was determined to make a change because drug abuse, crime and prison were literally killing him. With support from his EOCP Substance Abuse Counselor he enrolled in the Options Recovery Day Treatment program which gave him the support to develop an outside support system. He then began to look at some of his other serious challenges. Illiteracy was a major factor in the direction he had previously taken in life. An inability to read left him on the outside of society and with no real path to employment. Another loss was that he had little positive outlet for his innate curiosity and interest in the world. He began taking literacy courses and continues to be delighted by his ever widening world. Mr. Goode graduated from the Options Recovery Program in 2010. He is now the secretary for their out-patient NA support groups. He has reconnected with his children and has developed a working relationship with his ex-wife. He loves reading books and he is also engaged in a romantic relationship. He secured permanent housing, from which he rides his bike to meetings, literacy lessons, and computer classes. Success Stories A Young Mother on Her Way Finding Inner Strength Staying True to Herself Persistence Pays Off Donate Volunteer admin | site map | © 2007-2021 East Oakland Community Project