We Must Walk Alongside Our Neighbors Battling Addiction

More than one million New Yorkers struggle with substance use problems, and New York City has among the highest number of people using illicit drugs in the United States. Prescription drugs, including sedatives, painkillers, tranquilizers, and stimulants are the most-used substances, excluding marijuana use. 

In addition, NYC also has a high number of people (some 400,000) struggling with alcohol-use problems. A quarter of a million drug and alcohol users in New York City are enrolled in some type of rehabilitation and drug or alcohol treatment program.

But there is hope. We’re thankful for partners like Brooklyn Teen Challenge who commit to walking alongside our neighbors who are battling addiction.

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By the age of 20, Andrew Miller was addicted to heroin. “I was seeking rest,” Andrew says, “and the heroin use for a moment would give me this rest but then the problems would come back even worse.”

It wasn’t until he walked through the doors of Brooklyn Teen Challenge at the age of 25 that Andrew developed a relationship with Jesus and found hope.

“When I came through here, I thought there was no hope. And Christ said sometimes we can suffer for so long, sometimes we can be in sickness for so long we believe healing is no longer an option, but I can do the impossible in your life, Andrew. And I listened to that and I submitted, and God has changed my life.”

Watch Andrew’s powerful story of renewal, “The Throne of Your Heart.”

The Throne of Your Heart from Redeemer Video on Vimeo.