Meet Lenny
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Video by Morris Media LLC
"My name is Lenny Ferguson. I had used drugs for like 35 years of my life. I was an IV drug user. My last conviction was possession with intent and conspiracy of heroin. I went to federal penitentiary for that. Like I said, since I came out I've been on the straight and narrow.
My thing was that I was gonna die shooting dope. Without a doubt, that's what I thought. I had no idea that I would ever be clean. I didn't see my 20s without shooting dope, then my 30s, 40s, and part of my 50s. I'm 57 years old now, and I feel like I'm 12 sometimes. I usually talk to people about me as far as the only thing I have a lot of trouble with is not really growing up yet because all those years that I missed was just a fade. I know what happened but I don't really remember them. I don't remember becoming a man. Now at 57, I'm starting to become a man and it's wonderful."
Learn more about Lenny's story
"When I went to SOME, I was really standoff-ish from because..I'd always thought: 'All these young kids in here, what could they possible teach me?' The teachers were younger than I was. It finally hit me that I could learn from anyone, ya know, and then they reached out their hand to me, something that was new to me that no one had ever did but my mother, even though I would push away from my mother. They reached out their hand to me and treated me like they really cared. And I understood that and I got the message.
The old days I would wake up a lot of times with no money, sick, nose running, eyes running, couldn't hardly stand up, didn't know if I was gonna get enough money to go get some dope. Now I wake up, the birds sound good, the sky is beautiful, everything around me is beautiful. I have a loving caring relationship with my mother. My father died, but he saw me clean before he died.
I have a loving caring relationship with my son ? I have one son who's 26 years old. I have two granddaughters, and it's a beautiful thing to be able to appreciate them. My brother talks to me, and he's the oldest but he says he looks at me as the oldest because I'm an inspiration to him. I do my daily meetings; I go to church on Sundays, and the people that's in church say they never, never imagined seeing me clean. I gained 115 pounds since I've been clean. I was a stick.
Shalom house is a great place. I love the people there, the management is great, ya know. They talk to you, they help you out when they can. It's a place that gave me.really it's my rock because it feels like the solid ground that I need. That's what I get from Shalom, the SOME organization, too, is that enforcement that 'you'll be alright and everything's good.' I really appreciate that."
Click here to help a man like Lenny get on the right path.
So Others Might Eat has been working in the community for 40 years and has helped thousands of people get off the streets, transform their lives, and learn to live independently. We hope you will join our efforts by giving, volunteering, or advocating.
