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Roy’s Second Chance: Finding Home, Family, and Purpose at the Y
Like so many others, Roy’s addiction began with what seemed harmless at the time, social drinking in high school and college that gradually hardened into something he could no longer control. It spiraled into years of dependence, loss and instability.
Roy built a life working as a chef, then co‑owning a successful autobody shop, and starting a family. After a workplace injury in 2010 led to back surgeries and prescriptions that eased the severe chronic pain, he was introduced to a new kind of dependence. Over the years addiction took more than his health. It cost him his business, his home, his marriage, his relationships with his children – and eventually hope.
Achieving sobriety was only half of the battle for regaining security. Roy needed a stable job and place to live. He thought he had finally landed, but stability slipped through his grasp before he was fully back on his feet. When the paid position was replaced with a volunteer, his job and housing also vanished.
That’s when Roy spent five weeks living alone in a tent. “All I had were the clothes on my back. Nothing. Nothing else,” he remembers.
He wanted to rebuild his life but had cycled through treatment programs and stops and starts of sober living and the resulting life changes. A turning point for Roy was being arrested for public intoxication and related charges. With a choice between prison or a treatment court program, Roy applied to the YMCA Men’s Bridge program.
One phone call changed everything.
The YMCA accepted his application for the Men’s Bridge program and introduced him to his case manager, Gary. The Y didn’t just offer shelter; it offered structure, practical help, and a community that refused to give up on him. Roy moved into the Bridge House and began rebuilding one day at a time. He showed up for recovery meetings, did the step work, and leaned on recovery coaches and Y staff who helped him get an ID, Social Security, and disability benefits. Those concrete milestones, paired with daily encouragement, replaced chaos with structure and dignity.
The transformation rippled outward. Roy reconnected with his daughter. He stayed sober through his son’s deployment. He completed the Men’s Bridge program and transitioned into a Single Room Occupancy unit, paying rent and living among neighbors who practice mutual accountability in sober housing. For the first time in years, Roy had something he hadn’t felt for years: belonging. He calls the YMCA his forever home.
The Y made me feel safe and secure, every single person here, to me, is family. Someone is giving me a second chance. The Y is letting me have a second chance.
Roy’s story is not just about one man’s recovery. It’s a portrait of how community care, hospitals, recovery coaches, shelters, and the YMCA, can come together to rescue lives. He credits the unique network of resources across Berks County with gratitude made possible by supporters. “I’ve never seen any county that does this.” His advice to others is simple and honest: take responsibility, keep showing up, and accept help when it’s offered. Today Roy is sober, employed, connected to services, and committed to paying it forward.
This transformation is possible because donors and supporters of the Y fund the programs, staff, and housing that make second chances real. Your support gives people like Roy the tools to rebuild with the life skills, safe place to sleep, and a community that believes in their worth. When you give to the Y, you give more than services. You give a lifeline, a family, and a future.
