“When I look at Howard Center, I see an organization steeped in genuine concern for us collectively and for each human being.”
SHELBURNE, VERMONT – In that fleeting moment you are ready, where is the door? When you fall down, collapsing into your pain, where is the hand that lifts you out of overwhelming shame? When others seem to look at you as sub-human, who reminds you that you are loved?
Many of us can never imagine ourselves in a space where we would need Howard Center services. Yet, we are each human, and within that humanity comes a fallibility, a vulnerability, a reliance on circumstance that ensures the impossible can befall even the most virtuous of us. I learned long ago that the line between my life and those suffering with substance misuse, homelessness, and mental illness is simply non-existent. There is no line between. There is no me and them. There is only compassion, understanding, connection, and togetherness that lifts us all. There is only us.
When I look at Howard Center, I see an organization steeped in genuine concern for us collectively and for each human being. I see the door that will open the moment you are ready to make change. I see the ungrudging hand that picks you up from a puddle of shame. I see an organization that reminds you of the worthiness inherent in being human.
Words feel insufficient to describe the magnanimous benevolence, unequivocal care, and steadfast support that I have witnessed at Howard Center. So, I will simply say thank you from the bottom of my heart for the gift you have given my family.