Richard's Journey Home: A Fresh Start

My name is Timothy, and I was walking by CVS one day when I met Richard and Daisy. They touched my heart, and his story is a big piece of what my story is from the past. I was homeless just 6 months ago, and when I saw Richard, I saw myself in him. He has a big heart; it might be bigger than mine. His love for Daisy, his dog, is unconditional and overwhelming. The passion he has for her and his love is immense. Richard's been in active addiction for many years, and his family is ready for him to come home. I facilitated a ride all the way home to Boston, Massachusetts, for him. We have also found a local vet in town that helped us out and got Daisy spayed, microchipped, her second round of shots, and registered. He's got a fresh new makeover from the barbershop, a brand new wardrobe, and is ready to start his life. But Richard's best bet for being successful in life is getting into a facility and getting himself clean, and he's agreed to do that for me and for himself because he wants to be the man he needs to be for his wife and his three children. I'm more proud of this man than I've ever been of anybody for the steps that he's taken and the dedication that he's willing to put in to change his life and make a better and brighter future for him and his family. All the money raised from this will go towards rehab and rehabilitation for Richard. Any extra funds left over will go towards helping him find housing when he gets out for him and his family. Daisy will be safe; his wife is taking her and is going to love her every day until Richard is out and feeling healthier. Everybody's got their struggle in life; everybody's got their addiction. The person sitting in line at Starbucks waiting for their daily $17 coffee—you can't judge the man sitting at the liquor store asking for 10 bucks to get a bag of crack. Everybody's got their poison; everybody's got their crutch that they lean on. Richard just doesn't want his to define him, and he's ready to prove to the world and show them the real man that he is inside because he's tired of being judged just on his outside appearance and his living situation. I would have never met Richard if I just walked past him and judged him on his situation, his scenario, and his outer appearance. But I sat down and I listened to his story, and I realized that this man is crying out for help, and if he's willing to accept it, I'm going to do everything in my power to get him the help that he needs. I hope you are as touched by Richard's story as I've been, and I hope that if you have it in you to help support this cause and support his journey, he will be forever grateful to you. I'm going to leave you guys with something that I was taught as a child and it was instilled as a value to me: "You have to give it away to keep it!"