Thankful People: An addict finds he likes the new him, clean and sober

Some people get a wake-up call. For Jackie Chandler, he simply woke up.

Chandler said he woke up one morning at the Rev. Larry Rice's homeless shelter in St. Louis and thought, "I'm tired of this. I can't keep living life like this."

He was living on the streets, had diabetes and high blood pressure. But that wasn't all Jackie was; he was also a crack-cocaine addict who that morning made the decision to change and stop taking drugs.

"It was a rough life, a hard, hard life," he said.

Jackie started doing drugs at age 13.

"I'm the only one in my family who did them." Jackie said. "I had nasty, low self-esteem at the time."

Jackie met another homeless man named John May from Cape Girardeau. John and his wife, Kim, brought Jackie to the Agape House, a transitional living facility in Cape Girardeau to live and clean up his life. There Jackie had his own bed in his own room.

"He brought me in to a nice house and I'm very thankful. Very thankful," Jackie said. "I am proud of what he did for me."

That was this summer. Jackie began attending AA meetings and still goes every morning. His favorite step is the first one: Admit we are powerless and that our lives have become unmanageable. Between AA and going to the Gibson Recovery Center where he meets with a counselor, he was able to get clean and sober.

"I would have died if I stayed on the street," Jackie said.

He said he believes God put the Hoover Center in his life. The Hoover Center is a center designed to meet the needs of senior citizens. The center has a gym where he can work out and clear his mind, he said.

At age 62, Jackie has been sober for about two years.

"I thank God every morning" he said. He now helps children and others who come to the Agape House for help. And he is able to keep his diabetes and high blood pressure under control through medication.

"I feel very good about myself now. I'm very proud and I thank God," he said. "I'm going forward not backwards and I'm going to keep going forward. I'm never going back. I love Jackie. He's a good man."