Fall of 2018, Javier was detoxing from alcohol and knew something was wrong. He sat on the corner of 44th & Clyde Park until his sister could get him to the ER. This almost-deadly detox had happened before, and Javi’s liver was close to failure.
Javi had left California after destroying his family relationships there to find refuge with one of three sisters living in the Grand Rapids area. But he kept drinking and wore out his welcome with each until he ended up on that street corner, waiting.
After the ER doctor insisted he needed serious help, Javi’s sister, Brenda, found Guiding Light and told him he needed to give it a shot. Javi recalls, “I didn’t want to but I was already at rock bottom. I had nothing else to lose, but I was afraid to lose her.”
“It was October 17, 2018, when I walked through the Guiding Light doors. I had never had that kind of fear before. It was the unknown, wondering what I am doing here.” What he started doing was changing everything about his life.
He also remembers his first conversation with then Program Director (now Executive Director), Brian Elve: ”It was difficult to be open to someone because I was never honest with anyone, not my mom or dad or brothers or Brenda. I told him the way I felt, my story, in my own not-so good English. But he understood and he told me that I was broke. That you’re broken. And I thought he was referring to money. I knew that part. But he was referring to the inside of my heart.”
Fast forward to six years of sobriety under his belt, Javi already had a good job when two new offers came in. One would take him on the road where he would face all the old temptations, like hotel refrigerators stocked with beer. The other would bring him back to where his new life had begun, Guiding Light. The old Javi — the one who drank to the point of hospitalization for withdrawal — would have done whatever he wanted without consulting anyone.
But the new Javi asked one of his sisters, Brenda, for advice. “She made me look at points that I was not looking at — like being connected to God, being connected with all these guys in sobriety. She was pretty much telling me, ‘You’re going to go work for Guiding Light,’” he said. “And when Brenda says, ‘I want you to do this,’ it means you’d better do it.” Javi took her advice.
As Facilities Manager, Javi is responsible for the upkeep of 10 properties which can house a total of 101 people each night. He also serves as a manager at Guiding Light’s Iron House sober living community for men. “My priority, my No. 1, is the safety of the men and women
here,” he said. “I don’t just repair everything, making sure everything is up and running. If I can’t do the work myself, I always try to hire the right people, contractors who can take care of us and can help us, by doing a great job and by helping us save our resources. I’m also part of the team working in recovery. I was not expecting everything that I have right now.”
“Guiding Light saved my life. They really did. I’m glad that they took that chance on me. It feels good inside to know that I can be trusted, that I’m part of something. Every day I like to talk to the Man Upstairs and I’m grateful.”
