A Veteran’s Path to Healing

Frank’s Story of Faith and Recovery

Has God ever shown you who you are meant to be? It was an encounter with Christ that did that for Frank — enabling him to pull himself out of the depths of depression and addiction that had defined most of his life. 

Frank lost his mother when he was just five years old. His grandparents took him in and relocated them to Glen Burnie, MD. But as an only child, he often felt the weight of loneliness that overwhelmed him at such a young age.  

Influenced by family members who used substances as self-medication, he followed a similar path to escape his own reality and began drinking and using marijuana. 

He soon realized that this method of dampening his feelings were becoming uncontrollable.

In November 1979, Frank enlisted in the Army, hoping a structured environment would help.

The military provided him with the regimented life he was looking for, exposure to diverse cultures, and finally, the sense of purpose he had been missing.

Unfortunately, influenced by the drug use of fellow soldiers, Franks substance abuse continued and grew worse.

That led to a discriminatory encounter with a recruiter in Germany, causing Frank to receive an honorable discharge from service at 23.

After leaving the army, Frank got a job at the Department of Corrections and met and married a girl named Alice. His life seemed to be turning around and they soon had a daughter.

However,  Frank’s worsening drug and alcohol use led to depression and the eventual breakdown of his marriage.

After their divorce, Frank spiraled further into addiction, culminating in his use of crack cocaine. Frank’s life had reached a low point he could have never imagined for himself. He lost his job due to his deteriorating mental state and substance misuse – and then asked God to take his life.

That’s when, at the urging of an aunt who had always prayed for him, Frank entered the Teen Challenge program.

Thanks to the support of friends like you, our program marked the beginning of Frank’s transformational relationship with Christ and the start of his recovery journey.

Recognizing the calling God has on his life, Frank was finally able to become clean and start living the life he was meant to have.

He met and married his wife Marina and they have been together for the last 15 years. Together, they have a daughter, Jordan. Frank has also reconnected with his first daughter, Jasmine, hoping to right any wrongs his missteps caused in her life.

“When I look at the life I lived and the circumstances that I was in, all I can do is thank God for his grace. Not only did he sustain me, he put me back in my physical environment which outwardly didn’t change, but internally I did.”

Thank you for helping make Frank’s story of restoration possible. Your generous support of Teen Challenge helps bring God’s transformative love to more people, helping so many find the path God intends for them.

From our CEO

In this month that celebrates American freedom, I am reminded of the powerful influence that veterans of our nation’s military have had in my own life.

I think of a former PAATC board member, Michael Kane. Michael is a veteran who has had members of his own family impacted by substance abuse disorder. It is his firsthand experience that has made Michael such a passionate supporter of our program. 

We have become close over the years, and I’m excited to share that Michael is starting a new non-profit that will help support PAATC’s work to transform lives.    I will tell you more about this in the months ahead, but it fills me with both excitement and hope. 

With over 3.9 million veterans suffering with a substance use disorder or mental illness, this partnership couldn’t come at a better time.

As you read through this newsletter, I hope you’ll celebrate the freedom this month represents, and know that you are helping bring freedom to so many who are bound by substance abuse disorder. Thank you for walking beside us.

Kris J. McFadden, Sr., M.A.R.
President/CEO