Graeme has joy and new life, thanks to you

Holiday Newsletter Story

Graeme has joy and new life, thanks to you

I didn’t care about anything. I was hopeless…

Graeme grew up in a world of abuse and chaos. “My family member was angry all the time. I was yelled at, hit and belittled,” he says.

No one knew his family member had undiagnosed bipolar disorder. All Graeme knew was that he didn’t feel cared for. He was heartbroken and angry, and when he was 12, he began numbing his pain with drugs. “It was an escape from the hurt inside.”

Eventually, his family member put him in foster care, but Graeme ran away and never went back. Over the years, his addiction escalated, landing him in trouble with the law and leaving him experiencing homelessness, sleeping on friends’ sofas.

Then he fell in love and started a family. He wanted to change his life for them and struggled to stay clean. But he relapsed again and again, and finally, his wife left. Graeme didn’t want to live anymore. “I didn’t care about anything. I was hopeless.”

Thankfully, he went to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. All those years, he’d been self-medicating, but doctors placed him on medications that stabilized his emotions. When he heard about Wheeler Mission, he felt like it was an opportunity to pursue real change, and entered our Foundations program.

Since then, Bible studies, chapel services, and fellowship have transformed Graeme’s life. “When I got here, I had no clue what it meant to be a Christian. They introduced me to Jesus Christ and now I’m saved!”

Meanwhile, through work therapy, vocational training, and life skills classes, we’ve equipped him with everything he needs to lead a successful, independent life. And with the help of therapy and his bipolar medications, he continues growing emotionally strong.

“Now I wake up every morning with a smile on my face.”

Graeme is excited to celebrate the restored hope he has been given this Christmas—and wants YOU to know just how grateful he is. “Wheeler Mission gave me the foundation to rebuild my life. Now I’m a Christian man with something to live for. I have hope.”

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