June 17, 2025 • 26 mins
In this episode Adam continues his story and shares a time in his life when he became increasingly desperate and hopeless. He shares about a time when he was homeless for several years and describes how the enemy sneaks up on you in an attempt to steal away your life right from under your nose. Adam also shares how God brought him to a place in his heart, and to a place here in Columbus Georgia, where everything began to change.
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Episode Transcript
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Adam (00:00):
a lot of what scares me about being homeless is you got
guys that I know that come outtatheir tent one day and it's been
decade, two decades, and they'restill just going to get their
beer or whatever they do, and itjust slips away from you.
You become complacent.
I've always adapted well andhomelessness is a thing that I
(00:21):
had I had under control.
And that, that scared me.
Like I know this could be aproblem and I could, my whole
life could slip away.
Phil Shuler (00:29):
HellO, and welcome to Renew, Restore, Rejoice, the
Safe House Ministries podcast,where we share stories of the
power of God to change livesthrough Safe House Ministries.
Safe House Ministries is basedout of Columbus, Georgia, and we
are a ministry that exists tolove and serve people who have
been affected by addiction,homelessness, and incarceration.
I'm your host, Phil Shuler, theDirector of Development for Safe
(00:51):
House Ministries here inColumbus, Georgia.
Safe House serves over 1, 100people each month as they
transition back into ourcommunity.
Safe House provides an abundanceof services including 213 beds
for homeless individuals andfamilies, case management for
obtaining job skills and longterm employment.
Over 300 hot meals every day,free clothing, and so much more.
(01:12):
One of the most incredibleservices that Safe House
provides is our free 9 12 monthintensive outpatient substance
abuse program, which is statelicensed, CARF accredited, and
has no wait list.
Almost 100 percent ofindividuals staying in our
shelters who follow our threephase program become fully
employed within a few months.
And 68 percent of individualswho stay at least one night with
(01:33):
us End up finding work andmoving into their own home.
Thank you for being with ustoday and listening to our
podcast.
We hope you enjoy this week'sepisode.
Adam (01:42):
And I spent three years homeless in the street, wow.
And all over I've been homelessin, I, everywhere I would go,
I'd end up homeless.
It got so bad that the placesthat I would go, they call'em
like shot houses where peoplesit in there, do their drugs,
and they buy'em there and youcan sit, it's like a junkie
house basically.
They wouldn't let me come overthere anymore.
(02:03):
Like really?
I would get so messed up becauseyou're just violent and crazy
and not, it's I would just Idon't even know what I'd do
really.
'cause I wouldn't remember anyof it.
But like I know one house, I,they said I, I hit whatever I
was doing and then I went outand blocked the door so people
couldn't get in to do thedealings.
(02:24):
And that's the strange thing isyou come to, and it feels like
it's been seconds, but youmight've been out or sitting in
this bathroom at Waffle Housesmoking.
At that point I was smokingfentanyl.
And it's been hours that you'vebeen in there.
Wow.
And it feels like you just hitit.
'cause it's still in your handwhen you wake up.
Wow.
It just, everything just pauses,so in 2023 I had, I said at the
(02:48):
beginning of that year, I toldmy wife she would, like
Phil (02:51):
You were still communicating with her during
the time that you were homeless?
Yeah, she would sneak me in
Adam (02:54):
every once in a while without her parents knowing and
let me sleep and Or have, was
Phil (02:59):
she pretty clean and sober and was she doing well or not?
Not at that
Adam (03:03):
point, but she she definitely wasn't to the extent
that I was.
But it, but even in those thattime, she would video me coming
out the bathroom and I wouldn'tremember it.
And I would get mad and it waslike I was a zombie I'd, and I
don't recall it, so I would getmad because I knew that I was
messed up.
Like I knew that I had aproblem.
(03:24):
And so it was like it hurt towatch it.
Yeah.
So I would get mad at herbecause you're filming me.
But it was really internalstuff.
But I promised her that I wouldgo to treatment sometime before
the year was over.
So that was like the firstmoment that I was like, maybe I
can't do this.
Yeah.
Maybe I need some help.
Phil (03:44):
What was it like to be homeless?
Just did you just sleep whereveryou could, but, and sometimes,
maybe just literally on thestreet or in a, in the woods or
I had a
Adam (03:53):
car at that point and in the beginning, and a girl that I
had met at the gas station, atthe bu gambling machines, she
stole it after we'd been hangingout for a couple weeks, maybe a
month or two, she stole my car.
Phil (04:08):
Wow.
Adam (04:09):
And I was living in it and everything I owned with it, oh,
wow.
Because I didn't have a lot, butclothes are important.
Yeah.
Man when that car was out andtransportation was gone it was
like truly homeless.
And so at that point I wasstill, I had friends.
I would wander a lot throughoutthe night, just walked.
(04:30):
And but I still had friends thatI could go I would shoplift to
get money and I did pretty good.
I didn't really go without atthat point, and I had enough of
whatever it was to like, coercepeople into letting me hang out
at their house for a week.
I keep getting you high.
If you'll just let me hang outand, I wouldn't even say I was
(04:52):
truly homeless right then.
I was pretty homeless, but itgot worse, and the worst of it
was once I left in 2023, I wentto Jacksonville, Florida and was
gonna go through Sober Living ofAmerica, which is like a halfway
house.
It's not detox, get clean.
(05:15):
It's like you're already clclean when you're, when you come
there.
But I wasn't.
Phil (05:18):
Oh, wow.
Adam (05:19):
Yeah, I was smoking fentanyl on the Greyhound.
So after about three days, Iwent into full withdrawals and
the lady who ran it knew that Iwas sick.
And she asked me if I wanted togo to detox, and I said, yeah.
And I went to a great program.
I didn't complete it.
I wish I would've it was agateway out of outta
(05:39):
Jacksonville, Florida.
It was just like safe for me,i'd been not certain of what I
was gonna do for so long.
And this was like a nicefacility.
Then I, so the first time Iwent, I did the detox, and then
I moved on to the intensiveinpatient where they got like a
little hotel courtyard and therooms are on that.
(05:59):
So you got like a hotel roomwith a roommate and, it was
good, man.
And I've been to rehabs beforewhere I get into it a lot, I get
involved, but then somethingchanges.
And I think it was, I wasn'treally contact with my wife and
my kids.
Nobody.
My sister had already, she hadrope me off.
(06:20):
My uncle had rope me off.
Everybody else was dead.
So I remember coming into thatrehab and they asked me, what's
your support system look like?
And I was confused.
I said, I thought y'all were mysupport system.
I don't have anybody.
And so all these things I made achoice one night to leave the
rehab.
And people there were like, man,you had this you were one of the
(06:42):
only ones that were front andcenter every day.
And it's just my thinking.
I obsess and then I make rashdecision.
And it was a mistake'cause Ididn't know anybody in
Jacksonville.
Wow.
And I thought that I couldconvince somebody to pay for a
bus ticket back to Columbia, butI did, couldn't.
And I was down there for months.
And when I tell you it wassleeping on the sidewalk,
(07:03):
homeless, i'm glad it happenedbecause it gave me gratitude.
To know, like things are ablessing and something as simple
as a chair to sit in is ablessing, wow.
And God provided then, because Inever went without food.
I might be hungry, but I wouldhave, that's when my God moments
(07:23):
really started in Jacksonville,Florida.
I was sober, but I was homeless.
And initially I was sober.
I could sit outside theStarbucks down there and not
even Panhandle.
And people would just give memoney and food, and I and in
turn I had so much, there wasmornings I'd have 10 lattes and
all this, all these sandwichesand stuff.
So I would just eat the littlebit that it required for me to
(07:46):
get full because I was hungryall the time.
And I'd give it away to the guysaround me.
So in turn they would look outfor me while I was sleeping.
Phil (07:54):
Oh, wow.
Adam (07:55):
But at that was the point that I was like, I've got too
much, so I need to help theseother people that are hungry.
Then I had a moment where it waslike a shopping center and you
had Starbucks, Publix theycaught it five points.
It was uppity office, part oftown.
So you could go within thatsquare and they had restaurants,
liquor stores, little gasstation Publix had wifi.
(08:18):
So I sat, I was sitting atoutside Publix, this was
Christmas time, and I rememberthe dudes for Salvation Army
ringing the bells outsidePublix.
And the manager, they had someguys with suits on, with
Salvation Army.
So they were doing some type ofthing to promote it.
And the manager Publix came outand ran me off and I got mad.
(08:40):
I was like, man, how are yourunning the homeless off when
you're collecting money for theSalvation Army outside your
store?
And I started to leave mad andthe car descendant got in front
of me and I was about ready tolike, fire off on this dude,
like I'm Finn to unload on you,everything that I feel.
And he said, Hey man, I justwant to tell you I'm also an
(09:01):
addiction and mental health peerspecialist.
And I was like, what?
And this is the car attendantnow.
The old black dude that's justpushing the buggies back.
That's all he is doing.
And he was like, man he's it'sgonna get better, man.
And I told him, I said, man I'msober off fentanyl.
And he said, I will tell youthat.
People that can get stop usingfentanyl are some of the
(09:23):
strongest individuals in theworld.
And he told me about a womanthat had, that lost her child to
coming into contact withfentanyl, lost her husband to
suicide.
Everything's a woman loved.
And she had 10 years sober atthat point.
And it was just like thatlittle, it didn't stop me by no
means, but I know that was amoment.
(09:45):
Like I told that guy, I said, Ican't explain these things that
are happening.
He said, you're not supposed to.
And I was like, okay.
Okay.
So there was o other times I hadguy, one guy that would come and
he would just pop up in thisold, beat up Honda Corolla,
Toyota Corolla.
And he didn't he wasn't fromthere like it was Audis,
(10:05):
Mercedes, BMWs, and then justrusted out.
And he would come up, he'd say,I don't have any money.
I just, God moved me to cometell you, you don't belong here.
I'm sitting on the sidewalk.
This isn't for you.
And wow.
He said, I know you got betterthings in store for you.
You just gotta hang on.
And I would look for that guy.
And it was like, he just, wow.
(10:28):
But he came when I needed himto.
Wow.
Those moments.
Then I would move like homelessare real nomadic, and they say
that they're the busiest peoplewith nothing to do.
You've always got somewhere yougotta, and I think it's just
trying to, you just keep moving.
But I was in Jacksonville Beachand I had been panhandling for
hours, maybe six hours, I think,maybe four bucks.
(10:49):
And this guy approached, I said,you know what?
I'm going back to my tent.
I'm done.
And as soon as I gave up, theguy approached me.
He said, man, I saw you outthere a couple hours ago.
Are you hungry?
I was like, yeah.
And he said his name was JimmyJohnson.
And I, but didn't click at thetime, but this is the later I
realized I looked him up on thephone, this is the NASCAR Jimmy
(11:11):
Johnson.
Phil (11:12):
Wow.
And,
Adam (11:12):
uh, He bought me several Chick-fil-A sandwiches.
It was like God provided for mewhenever I gave up.
And I I wasn't gonna have stakesevery night, but just when I
thought I can't go on, somethingwould happen, and unfortunately
it took another incarcerationafter 2023 to really get sober.
(11:32):
I got, I came back home and,immediately, like the Greyhound
picked me up and I was like, Ineed to go.
Or when I got off the Greyhound,I said, I want to go get some
dope.
And the people who picked me upalready had it, and I hadn't
done any in so long, you knowwhat I mean?
But I was struggling.
And I ended up sleeping in atent up by Flat Rock Park.
(11:54):
My kids and wife lived inLeesburg right there.
And it's kinda outta the way,for somebody who's got a drug
problem.
But I would walk from that parkto University of Macon Road
every day, and it's a hike.
You know what I mean?
Wow.
Yeah.
Panhandle for 30 minutes in themorning, make 40 bucks.
That would be enough dope tocarry me through today.
And I did that every day.
(12:15):
And a lot of what scares meabout being homeless is you got
guys that I know that come outtatheir tent one day and it's been
decade, two decades, and they'restill just going to get their
beer or whatever they do, and itjust slips away from you.
You become complacent.
I've always adapted well andhomelessness is a thing that I
(12:37):
had I had under control.
And that, that scared me.
Like I know this could be aproblem and I could, my whole
life could slip away.
Phil (12:45):
Yeah.
Adam (12:45):
I.
But I got picked up walking thestreet and the lady had said I
had a stop sign, FTA, running astop sign, which I hadn't had a
car in years, so I don't evenknow if that was true.
But I had dope on me.
So that was all she needed.
And I ended up doing it five anda half months and I knew that
(13:07):
was what I needed.
I needed that reprieve.
And I remember sitting in it, itwas five months on a 60 days in
it, so I was waiting on thejudge's signature and, justices
really don't work properly.
So I was there for way over mytime limit that I was supposed
to be released, but at somepoint I thought, I need to stay
(13:27):
here a little bit longer.
Like the angst of watching thedoor thinking they're coming to
get you.
Hey, you bring your stuff,you're getting out.
Oh, you didn't get out.
It just went away.
Yeah.
And I was like, not stressingit.
I was like, I just, this iswhere I need to be like right
now.
And I knew I was going to die ifI didn't.
It got a lot of hospital visitswhere they were pull me out of,
because you just smoked openbathrooms of businesses.
(13:50):
'cause you don't, you'rehomeless, and never did I
overdose.
But they thought that I was inoverdose, but I was just messed
up.
Yeah.
I never got the Narcan or any ofthat stuff.
But a lot of trips in theambulance to the hospital.
Phil (14:03):
Wow.
Adam (14:04):
And then they'd release me that night and I'd be probably,
Howard already had it on mestill, so I knew that something
had to happen.
And a guy told me about freedomHouse and in the jail, and at
that time it was coming off,they hadn't started the programs
back up in the jail because ofCovid.
They had to stop everything.
Phil (14:22):
Yeah.
Adam (14:23):
Now they have.
But I knew a few other programsthat I could try in Columbus and
in Phoenix City.
I didn't know about FreedomHouse.
I knew about Safe House, but Inever would walk that extra from
university to Safe House becauseI get what I wanted and I turn
around and go back.
Phil (14:41):
Yeah.
Adam (14:42):
But I lived in a camper for a short period with a guy
that would walk from that samearea to Safe House to eat every
day.
Phil (14:49):
Wow.
Adam (14:49):
And he was an old guy, but so I knew of it.
And when I got outta jail thattime immediately reported to
probation I was trying to do youknow what I mean?
And I I've got a friend, markShell Knight has taken very good
care of me.
My whole, throughout all ofthis.
Just, I don't know, favor of mydad or, he's defended me a lot
of times.
(15:10):
And then he's got Pam Brown whoworked for my dad years ago.
and I went up there superhomeless.
I'd been out a few days, but Ididn't have any, like, when the
jail released me, I had to,somebody gave me some sandals or
something, like I was in badshape.
And I told her that I wantedhelp, but I didn't know where to
(15:30):
go.
And she reached out and foundout about Freedom House.
And Neil Richardson he was thechaplain for my dad in the jail
for years.
We had contact down there, andwhen she said that, I knew who
he was.
And they waited on me downthere, and it took me, being
homeless is a lot aboutlogistics and it's a nightmare,
(15:53):
like trying to get places,especially if you're on this
side of town and you got to goto Yeah.
Plus I have blisters on my feetevery, wow.
Size of quarters or halfdollars.
And anyways, finally it took medays to get up there, but I made
it up there to the FreedomHouse.
To Safe House to Safe.
Okay.
So to the Day Center Safe House.
Yes.
Phil (16:12):
You didn't know that Freedom House was actually
connected to Safe HouseIndustries at the time?
No, I
Adam (16:15):
didn't at that point.
And I walked in and they hadLike they want proof of
homelessness and stuff likethat, but that's hard to give
when you're sleeping on theporch at Jersey, Mike Homemaker
Expressway, they don't know I'msleeping on their porch at
night.
And I started to give up and Iwent to walk out the back door
and Chaplain walked in and Iintroduced myself and he told
(16:37):
the van driver, he said, takethis dude to Freedom House and
don't let him go.
Wow.
He said, don't let him go.
And Stephanie told me that she'dbeen looking at the different
homeless places and, they werelooking for me, you know what I
mean?
And Pam had told them he'scoming in, but it was like 10
days and I was I was trying toget there, but that meant a lot
(17:00):
fresh out, fresh in there, thatthese people were like trying to
go outta their way to help me.
And, I got to freedom House andthe guy that was running the
kitchen at the time, he stillworks there.
I think you've, I think you'vetalked to him.
I'm not gonna put his businessout there, but he came up to me
and he was like, you're safe inthe front lobby.
And he said, if you're hungry,when you get done with your
(17:20):
intake, come to the kitchen,I'll feed you.
Phil (17:22):
Wow.
Adam (17:23):
And it was good, man.
It, but it was, after beinghomeless I'm, I know that things
are, I'm so grateful for things.
And plus I left Muskogee CountyJail, so the food, to me, the
food was great there, but,people fuss about it and I'm
like, man, we were eating out ofthe trash.
This is not bad.
It, even though I didn't dotomorrow's hope treatment
(17:44):
program, I was still on thetreatment side of the hallway.
You were in,
Phil (17:48):
were you in another treatment program?
Adam (17:49):
No.
I did like I said, Jamie Lee hadme do 90 meetings in 90 days,
get a sponsor work, the 12 step,which I've been in and out of
the programs since I was 16.
I just haven't, basically what Idid this time was everything
that I didn't do any other time.
Phil (18:05):
Yeah.
Adam (18:06):
And I, you actually followed the program?
Followed the program and workedwith another person.
But spirituality was the thingthat I was missing for 30 years.
I even, maybe my whole life, butI've searched for it.
Even in, in my addiction, Itried to figure out what it was.
Yeah.
So how so that, that was big.
You know what I mean?
I knew that.
How did
Phil (18:26):
you get introduced to Jesus then?
Like how did God bring thatright in front of you and how
did you come to the place whereyou just received that?
Adam (18:35):
Initially, so rewind to Jacksonville, Florida, there was
a guy that came into thattreatment program, and he was a
theologian.
And I talked to him because atthat point I was really
struggling trying to figure outwhat I was, what spiritual, what
that was.
And I told him, I said, man, theBible is hard for me to believe
(18:58):
wholeheartedly the way it'swritten.
And he said, look, man, forgetthat right now.
And I said but I don't have areligion.
I don't have a sec or adenomination that I follow.
And he was like, religion's theworst thing to happen to
spirituality.
And that might not be true, butthat was all I needed to hear.
To stop.
Trying to, it was like he wastelling me, stop thinking about
(19:21):
it.
Just stop trying to, and I justneeded that little bit, even if
it's not true, the statement,that's what I needed to hear.
Like the Bible was written bymen and God's God's word, but
it's, you don't have to, thatdoesn't have to make sense to
you right now.
You know what I mean?
And that's what I needed at thatpoint.
Like it was too much and I wastrying to over intellectualize
(19:43):
it.
So fast forward I got to freedomHouse, and I knew this was key
to me staying sober.
Like I had to find this, but Ijust, I went to a few churches
and I didn't feel the way thatother people felt.
I, and not that I didn't wantto, it was like I didn't feel
moved by the Holy Spirit at thatpoint.
(20:05):
And I would watch these peopleand I would, not necessarily
that I wanted what they had, butI was like, man, like I don't
feel that so in my room one dayI said to myself, if this is
working for everybody else, youmight as well just give it a
shot.
And it, if it's not real or it'snot true.
Then what do you stand to loseif it's getting people sober and
(20:26):
changing their lives?
What are you here for?
If that's not that, and I talk alot about this now that it was
not an overnight thing.
I had to, first of all, I had toget out of the way of it.
And I had to identify those Godmoments we were talking about.
This is not, he's been there thewhole time.
And and then I had theseepiphanies and these like grand
(20:48):
moments where for the first timein my life, I knew I was gonna
die.
If I didn't change something andI wasn't able to do at other
treatment programs or jails andinstitutions, I would think, oh,
I can just start with a littlebit, build my tolerance up and
I'll be back at it again.
Before I know it.
I didn't feel that anymore.
I don't, to this day I feel likethe next hit I'm gonna die.
(21:11):
You know what I mean?
And I, and especially now thatI've worked so hard, I know that
would be the time that I woulddie.
You know what I mean?
Like, when I was in the throwsof it, it wasn't like I didn't
have anything to lose.
But even early on, before I hadthe blessings in my life again.
I knew that it was, I knew itwas a death sentence, man.
I got friends that are dyingdaily that are active junkies
(21:34):
and it's killing them with onehit.
Wow.
And they do it every day, so Iknow that I don't stand a
chance.
And that's a good thing for meto think, that's important.
And so therefore I know I can'tdrink a beer because if I drink
a beer, I'm gonna go get what Ilike.
I can't smoke pot'cause I'mgoing to immediately wanna alter
that to the other way.
(21:54):
And it's not enough.
And so therefore I can followall the fellowships.
So I remember sitting in ameeting and saying I didn't know
how to pray.
I didn't know what that lookedlike.
I knew the concept, but how tolike truly pray.
And my sponsor is a devoutCatholic unwavering faith, and
he gave me so much grace.
(22:15):
Like he would say, just talk tohim.
Or I'd say, man I don't know ifI'm gonna be Catholic or go
back.
I grew up Presbyterian, firstPres downtown if I'm gonna be
Presbyterian Baptist.
He was like, Hey, you're rightwhere you need to be.
And that's all he'd say to me.
And, he would share on hisfaith.
But it was never, you need to,or you've got to.
(22:36):
He was, oh, he just, you'reright where you need to be.
And that's the end of part twoof Adam Johnson's story.
And something he said, severalthings he said really hit me
hard and just made me think.
But there was one thing inparticular when he was talking
about how he realized that hecould have become comfortable
with being homeless, and hetalked about the idea of years
(23:00):
going by and decades even forsome people.
And he said if he knew that inhis heart, if he didn't change
something.
His whole life could be gone Andthat really made me think, and I
hope there were some things inthis episode that the Lord used
to speak to you as well.
I wanna give you a couple ofstatistics in light of Father's
Day that we just had.
(23:21):
I sure hope that all of you hada wonderful Father's Day
recently, this past weekend, andI wanna give you a couple of
statistics related to drugaddiction, substance abuse, and
homelessness.
I.
In children who grow up withouta present and loving father,
there is nearly a three timeshigher risk of homelessness for
(23:43):
those kids when they get older.
And if you were to assess theindividuals in all of these
substance abuse treatmentprograms across our country.
You would find that 75%, threeout of every four individuals
who are trying to break freefrom a drug addiction or a
substance addiction who are inone of the treatment programs
(24:04):
around the country, three outtafour of those individuals grew
up without.
A present father in their lives.
Fathers are needed.
Fathers are crucial, and so veryimportant.
And so in light of the recentFather's Day, we just had, I
hope everyone again had awonderful Father's Day.
And I wanna encourage you, ifyou are a father, be present, be
(24:26):
involved, love your kids.
Train your kids, teach yourkids, help your kids, guide your
kids.
Be there for your kids.
Be present and loving in theirlives, and it will make a huge,
huge difference.
God bless you, and don't missnext week because we will hear
the conclusion and you'll hearhow things really turned around
(24:50):
for Adam.
the next thing you'll hear inhis story is.
A supernatural experience thathe had because he had his heart
opened up and surrendered toreceive a message from God.
He was ready to listen.
He was ready to receive, and Godsaw that and God met with him
(25:10):
and he will tell you about thatnext week.
God bless you, and we'll be backthen.
Phil Shuler (25:16):
We look forward to being with you again next week
as we share another testimonyabout the power and the goodness
of God to change lives throughSafe House Ministries.
if you are someone listening tothis podcast that loves to hear
these stories of the greatthings that God is doing in
changing people's lives for thebetter, and if you would like to
be a part of that work, pleasereach out to us You can reach us
(25:38):
at 2101 Hamilton Road, Columbus,Georgia, 31,904.
You can call us at seven oh sixthree two two.
3 7, 7 3, or you can email us atinfo@safehouse-ministries.com.
Microphone (Samson Q2U Mi (25:54):
Thank you so much for being with us
this week for the renew restoreand rejoice podcast of safe
house ministries, we pray thatGod will bless you this week.
And we look forward to havingyou back with us again next week
for a new episode.
a lot of what scares me about being homeless is you got
guys that I know that come outtatheir tent one day and it's been
decade, two decades, and they'restill just going to get their
beer or whatever they do, and itjust slips away from you.
You become complacent.
I've always adapted well andhomelessness is a thing that I
(00:21):
had I had under control.
And that, that scared me.
Like I know this could be aproblem and I could, my whole
life could slip away.
Phil Shuler (00:29):
HellO, and welcome to Renew, Restore, Rejoice, the
Safe House Ministries podcast,where we share stories of the
power of God to change livesthrough Safe House Ministries.
Safe House Ministries is basedout of Columbus, Georgia, and we
are a ministry that exists tolove and serve people who have
been affected by addiction,homelessness, and incarceration.
I'm your host, Phil Shuler, theDirector of Development for Safe
(00:51):
House Ministries here inColumbus, Georgia.
Safe House serves over 1, 100people each month as they
transition back into ourcommunity.
Safe House provides an abundanceof services including 213 beds
for homeless individuals andfamilies, case management for
obtaining job skills and longterm employment.
Over 300 hot meals every day,free clothing, and so much more.
(01:12):
One of the most incredibleservices that Safe House
provides is our free 9 12 monthintensive outpatient substance
abuse program, which is statelicensed, CARF accredited, and
has no wait list.
Almost 100 percent ofindividuals staying in our
shelters who follow our threephase program become fully
employed within a few months.
And 68 percent of individualswho stay at least one night with
(01:33):
us End up finding work andmoving into their own home.
Thank you for being with ustoday and listening to our
podcast.
We hope you enjoy this week'sepisode.
Adam (01:42):
And I spent three years homeless in the street, wow.
And all over I've been homelessin, I, everywhere I would go,
I'd end up homeless.
It got so bad that the placesthat I would go, they call'em
like shot houses where peoplesit in there, do their drugs,
and they buy'em there and youcan sit, it's like a junkie
house basically.
They wouldn't let me come overthere anymore.
(02:03):
Like really?
I would get so messed up becauseyou're just violent and crazy
and not, it's I would just Idon't even know what I'd do
really.
'cause I wouldn't remember anyof it.
But like I know one house, I,they said I, I hit whatever I
was doing and then I went outand blocked the door so people
couldn't get in to do thedealings.
(02:24):
And that's the strange thing isyou come to, and it feels like
it's been seconds, but youmight've been out or sitting in
this bathroom at Waffle Housesmoking.
At that point I was smokingfentanyl.
And it's been hours that you'vebeen in there.
Wow.
And it feels like you just hitit.
'cause it's still in your handwhen you wake up.
Wow.
It just, everything just pauses,so in 2023 I had, I said at the
(02:48):
beginning of that year, I toldmy wife she would, like
Phil (02:51):
You were still communicating with her during
the time that you were homeless?
Yeah, she would sneak me in
Adam (02:54):
every once in a while without her parents knowing and
let me sleep and Or have, was
Phil (02:59):
she pretty clean and sober and was she doing well or not?
Not at that
Adam (03:03):
point, but she she definitely wasn't to the extent
that I was.
But it, but even in those thattime, she would video me coming
out the bathroom and I wouldn'tremember it.
And I would get mad and it waslike I was a zombie I'd, and I
don't recall it, so I would getmad because I knew that I was
messed up.
Like I knew that I had aproblem.
(03:24):
And so it was like it hurt towatch it.
Yeah.
So I would get mad at herbecause you're filming me.
But it was really internalstuff.
But I promised her that I wouldgo to treatment sometime before
the year was over.
So that was like the firstmoment that I was like, maybe I
can't do this.
Yeah.
Maybe I need some help.
Phil (03:44):
What was it like to be homeless?
Just did you just sleep whereveryou could, but, and sometimes,
maybe just literally on thestreet or in a, in the woods or
I had a
Adam (03:53):
car at that point and in the beginning, and a girl that I
had met at the gas station, atthe bu gambling machines, she
stole it after we'd been hangingout for a couple weeks, maybe a
month or two, she stole my car.
Phil (04:08):
Wow.
Adam (04:09):
And I was living in it and everything I owned with it, oh,
wow.
Because I didn't have a lot, butclothes are important.
Yeah.
Man when that car was out andtransportation was gone it was
like truly homeless.
And so at that point I wasstill, I had friends.
I would wander a lot throughoutthe night, just walked.
(04:30):
And but I still had friends thatI could go I would shoplift to
get money and I did pretty good.
I didn't really go without atthat point, and I had enough of
whatever it was to like, coercepeople into letting me hang out
at their house for a week.
I keep getting you high.
If you'll just let me hang outand, I wouldn't even say I was
(04:52):
truly homeless right then.
I was pretty homeless, but itgot worse, and the worst of it
was once I left in 2023, I wentto Jacksonville, Florida and was
gonna go through Sober Living ofAmerica, which is like a halfway
house.
It's not detox, get clean.
(05:15):
It's like you're already clclean when you're, when you come
there.
But I wasn't.
Phil (05:18):
Oh, wow.
Adam (05:19):
Yeah, I was smoking fentanyl on the Greyhound.
So after about three days, Iwent into full withdrawals and
the lady who ran it knew that Iwas sick.
And she asked me if I wanted togo to detox, and I said, yeah.
And I went to a great program.
I didn't complete it.
I wish I would've it was agateway out of outta
(05:39):
Jacksonville, Florida.
It was just like safe for me,i'd been not certain of what I
was gonna do for so long.
And this was like a nicefacility.
Then I, so the first time Iwent, I did the detox, and then
I moved on to the intensiveinpatient where they got like a
little hotel courtyard and therooms are on that.
(05:59):
So you got like a hotel roomwith a roommate and, it was
good, man.
And I've been to rehabs beforewhere I get into it a lot, I get
involved, but then somethingchanges.
And I think it was, I wasn'treally contact with my wife and
my kids.
Nobody.
My sister had already, she hadrope me off.
(06:20):
My uncle had rope me off.
Everybody else was dead.
So I remember coming into thatrehab and they asked me, what's
your support system look like?
And I was confused.
I said, I thought y'all were mysupport system.
I don't have anybody.
And so all these things I made achoice one night to leave the
rehab.
And people there were like, man,you had this you were one of the
(06:42):
only ones that were front andcenter every day.
And it's just my thinking.
I obsess and then I make rashdecision.
And it was a mistake'cause Ididn't know anybody in
Jacksonville.
Wow.
And I thought that I couldconvince somebody to pay for a
bus ticket back to Columbia, butI did, couldn't.
And I was down there for months.
And when I tell you it wassleeping on the sidewalk,
(07:03):
homeless, i'm glad it happenedbecause it gave me gratitude.
To know, like things are ablessing and something as simple
as a chair to sit in is ablessing, wow.
And God provided then, because Inever went without food.
I might be hungry, but I wouldhave, that's when my God moments
(07:23):
really started in Jacksonville,Florida.
I was sober, but I was homeless.
And initially I was sober.
I could sit outside theStarbucks down there and not
even Panhandle.
And people would just give memoney and food, and I and in
turn I had so much, there wasmornings I'd have 10 lattes and
all this, all these sandwichesand stuff.
So I would just eat the littlebit that it required for me to
(07:46):
get full because I was hungryall the time.
And I'd give it away to the guysaround me.
So in turn they would look outfor me while I was sleeping.
Phil (07:54):
Oh, wow.
Adam (07:55):
But at that was the point that I was like, I've got too
much, so I need to help theseother people that are hungry.
Then I had a moment where it waslike a shopping center and you
had Starbucks, Publix theycaught it five points.
It was uppity office, part oftown.
So you could go within thatsquare and they had restaurants,
liquor stores, little gasstation Publix had wifi.
(08:18):
So I sat, I was sitting atoutside Publix, this was
Christmas time, and I rememberthe dudes for Salvation Army
ringing the bells outsidePublix.
And the manager, they had someguys with suits on, with
Salvation Army.
So they were doing some type ofthing to promote it.
And the manager Publix came outand ran me off and I got mad.
(08:40):
I was like, man, how are yourunning the homeless off when
you're collecting money for theSalvation Army outside your
store?
And I started to leave mad andthe car descendant got in front
of me and I was about ready tolike, fire off on this dude,
like I'm Finn to unload on you,everything that I feel.
And he said, Hey man, I justwant to tell you I'm also an
(09:01):
addiction and mental health peerspecialist.
And I was like, what?
And this is the car attendantnow.
The old black dude that's justpushing the buggies back.
That's all he is doing.
And he was like, man he's it'sgonna get better, man.
And I told him, I said, man I'msober off fentanyl.
And he said, I will tell youthat.
People that can get stop usingfentanyl are some of the
(09:23):
strongest individuals in theworld.
And he told me about a womanthat had, that lost her child to
coming into contact withfentanyl, lost her husband to
suicide.
Everything's a woman loved.
And she had 10 years sober atthat point.
And it was just like thatlittle, it didn't stop me by no
means, but I know that was amoment.
(09:45):
Like I told that guy, I said, Ican't explain these things that
are happening.
He said, you're not supposed to.
And I was like, okay.
Okay.
So there was o other times I hadguy, one guy that would come and
he would just pop up in thisold, beat up Honda Corolla,
Toyota Corolla.
And he didn't he wasn't fromthere like it was Audis,
(10:05):
Mercedes, BMWs, and then justrusted out.
And he would come up, he'd say,I don't have any money.
I just, God moved me to cometell you, you don't belong here.
I'm sitting on the sidewalk.
This isn't for you.
And wow.
He said, I know you got betterthings in store for you.
You just gotta hang on.
And I would look for that guy.
And it was like, he just, wow.
(10:28):
But he came when I needed himto.
Wow.
Those moments.
Then I would move like homelessare real nomadic, and they say
that they're the busiest peoplewith nothing to do.
You've always got somewhere yougotta, and I think it's just
trying to, you just keep moving.
But I was in Jacksonville Beachand I had been panhandling for
hours, maybe six hours, I think,maybe four bucks.
(10:49):
And this guy approached, I said,you know what?
I'm going back to my tent.
I'm done.
And as soon as I gave up, theguy approached me.
He said, man, I saw you outthere a couple hours ago.
Are you hungry?
I was like, yeah.
And he said his name was JimmyJohnson.
And I, but didn't click at thetime, but this is the later I
realized I looked him up on thephone, this is the NASCAR Jimmy
(11:11):
Johnson.
Phil (11:12):
Wow.
And,
Adam (11:12):
uh, He bought me several Chick-fil-A sandwiches.
It was like God provided for mewhenever I gave up.
And I I wasn't gonna have stakesevery night, but just when I
thought I can't go on, somethingwould happen, and unfortunately
it took another incarcerationafter 2023 to really get sober.
(11:32):
I got, I came back home and,immediately, like the Greyhound
picked me up and I was like, Ineed to go.
Or when I got off the Greyhound,I said, I want to go get some
dope.
And the people who picked me upalready had it, and I hadn't
done any in so long, you knowwhat I mean?
But I was struggling.
And I ended up sleeping in atent up by Flat Rock Park.
(11:54):
My kids and wife lived inLeesburg right there.
And it's kinda outta the way,for somebody who's got a drug
problem.
But I would walk from that parkto University of Macon Road
every day, and it's a hike.
You know what I mean?
Wow.
Yeah.
Panhandle for 30 minutes in themorning, make 40 bucks.
That would be enough dope tocarry me through today.
And I did that every day.
(12:15):
And a lot of what scares meabout being homeless is you got
guys that I know that come outtatheir tent one day and it's been
decade, two decades, and they'restill just going to get their
beer or whatever they do, and itjust slips away from you.
You become complacent.
I've always adapted well andhomelessness is a thing that I
(12:37):
had I had under control.
And that, that scared me.
Like I know this could be aproblem and I could, my whole
life could slip away.
Phil (12:45):
Yeah.
Adam (12:45):
I.
But I got picked up walking thestreet and the lady had said I
had a stop sign, FTA, running astop sign, which I hadn't had a
car in years, so I don't evenknow if that was true.
But I had dope on me.
So that was all she needed.
And I ended up doing it five anda half months and I knew that
(13:07):
was what I needed.
I needed that reprieve.
And I remember sitting in it, itwas five months on a 60 days in
it, so I was waiting on thejudge's signature and, justices
really don't work properly.
So I was there for way over mytime limit that I was supposed
to be released, but at somepoint I thought, I need to stay
(13:27):
here a little bit longer.
Like the angst of watching thedoor thinking they're coming to
get you.
Hey, you bring your stuff,you're getting out.
Oh, you didn't get out.
It just went away.
Yeah.
And I was like, not stressingit.
I was like, I just, this iswhere I need to be like right
now.
And I knew I was going to die ifI didn't.
It got a lot of hospital visitswhere they were pull me out of,
because you just smoked openbathrooms of businesses.
(13:50):
'cause you don't, you'rehomeless, and never did I
overdose.
But they thought that I was inoverdose, but I was just messed
up.
Yeah.
I never got the Narcan or any ofthat stuff.
But a lot of trips in theambulance to the hospital.
Phil (14:03):
Wow.
Adam (14:04):
And then they'd release me that night and I'd be probably,
Howard already had it on mestill, so I knew that something
had to happen.
And a guy told me about freedomHouse and in the jail, and at
that time it was coming off,they hadn't started the programs
back up in the jail because ofCovid.
They had to stop everything.
Phil (14:22):
Yeah.
Adam (14:23):
Now they have.
But I knew a few other programsthat I could try in Columbus and
in Phoenix City.
I didn't know about FreedomHouse.
I knew about Safe House, but Inever would walk that extra from
university to Safe House becauseI get what I wanted and I turn
around and go back.
Phil (14:41):
Yeah.
Adam (14:42):
But I lived in a camper for a short period with a guy
that would walk from that samearea to Safe House to eat every
day.
Phil (14:49):
Wow.
Adam (14:49):
And he was an old guy, but so I knew of it.
And when I got outta jail thattime immediately reported to
probation I was trying to do youknow what I mean?
And I I've got a friend, markShell Knight has taken very good
care of me.
My whole, throughout all ofthis.
Just, I don't know, favor of mydad or, he's defended me a lot
of times.
(15:10):
And then he's got Pam Brown whoworked for my dad years ago.
and I went up there superhomeless.
I'd been out a few days, but Ididn't have any, like, when the
jail released me, I had to,somebody gave me some sandals or
something, like I was in badshape.
And I told her that I wantedhelp, but I didn't know where to
(15:30):
go.
And she reached out and foundout about Freedom House.
And Neil Richardson he was thechaplain for my dad in the jail
for years.
We had contact down there, andwhen she said that, I knew who
he was.
And they waited on me downthere, and it took me, being
homeless is a lot aboutlogistics and it's a nightmare,
(15:53):
like trying to get places,especially if you're on this
side of town and you got to goto Yeah.
Plus I have blisters on my feetevery, wow.
Size of quarters or halfdollars.
And anyways, finally it took medays to get up there, but I made
it up there to the FreedomHouse.
To Safe House to Safe.
Okay.
So to the Day Center Safe House.
Yes.
Phil (16:12):
You didn't know that Freedom House was actually
connected to Safe HouseIndustries at the time?
No, I
Adam (16:15):
didn't at that point.
And I walked in and they hadLike they want proof of
homelessness and stuff likethat, but that's hard to give
when you're sleeping on theporch at Jersey, Mike Homemaker
Expressway, they don't know I'msleeping on their porch at
night.
And I started to give up and Iwent to walk out the back door
and Chaplain walked in and Iintroduced myself and he told
(16:37):
the van driver, he said, takethis dude to Freedom House and
don't let him go.
Wow.
He said, don't let him go.
And Stephanie told me that she'dbeen looking at the different
homeless places and, they werelooking for me, you know what I
mean?
And Pam had told them he'scoming in, but it was like 10
days and I was I was trying toget there, but that meant a lot
(17:00):
fresh out, fresh in there, thatthese people were like trying to
go outta their way to help me.
And, I got to freedom House andthe guy that was running the
kitchen at the time, he stillworks there.
I think you've, I think you'vetalked to him.
I'm not gonna put his businessout there, but he came up to me
and he was like, you're safe inthe front lobby.
And he said, if you're hungry,when you get done with your
(17:20):
intake, come to the kitchen,I'll feed you.
Phil (17:22):
Wow.
Adam (17:23):
And it was good, man.
It, but it was, after beinghomeless I'm, I know that things
are, I'm so grateful for things.
And plus I left Muskogee CountyJail, so the food, to me, the
food was great there, but,people fuss about it and I'm
like, man, we were eating out ofthe trash.
This is not bad.
It, even though I didn't dotomorrow's hope treatment
(17:44):
program, I was still on thetreatment side of the hallway.
You were in,
Phil (17:48):
were you in another treatment program?
Adam (17:49):
No.
I did like I said, Jamie Lee hadme do 90 meetings in 90 days,
get a sponsor work, the 12 step,which I've been in and out of
the programs since I was 16.
I just haven't, basically what Idid this time was everything
that I didn't do any other time.
Phil (18:05):
Yeah.
Adam (18:06):
And I, you actually followed the program?
Followed the program and workedwith another person.
But spirituality was the thingthat I was missing for 30 years.
I even, maybe my whole life, butI've searched for it.
Even in, in my addiction, Itried to figure out what it was.
Yeah.
So how so that, that was big.
You know what I mean?
I knew that.
How did
Phil (18:26):
you get introduced to Jesus then?
Like how did God bring thatright in front of you and how
did you come to the place whereyou just received that?
Adam (18:35):
Initially, so rewind to Jacksonville, Florida, there was
a guy that came into thattreatment program, and he was a
theologian.
And I talked to him because atthat point I was really
struggling trying to figure outwhat I was, what spiritual, what
that was.
And I told him, I said, man, theBible is hard for me to believe
(18:58):
wholeheartedly the way it'swritten.
And he said, look, man, forgetthat right now.
And I said but I don't have areligion.
I don't have a sec or adenomination that I follow.
And he was like, religion's theworst thing to happen to
spirituality.
And that might not be true, butthat was all I needed to hear.
To stop.
Trying to, it was like he wastelling me, stop thinking about
(19:21):
it.
Just stop trying to, and I justneeded that little bit, even if
it's not true, the statement,that's what I needed to hear.
Like the Bible was written bymen and God's God's word, but
it's, you don't have to, thatdoesn't have to make sense to
you right now.
You know what I mean?
And that's what I needed at thatpoint.
Like it was too much and I wastrying to over intellectualize
(19:43):
it.
So fast forward I got to freedomHouse, and I knew this was key
to me staying sober.
Like I had to find this, but Ijust, I went to a few churches
and I didn't feel the way thatother people felt.
I, and not that I didn't wantto, it was like I didn't feel
moved by the Holy Spirit at thatpoint.
(20:05):
And I would watch these peopleand I would, not necessarily
that I wanted what they had, butI was like, man, like I don't
feel that so in my room one dayI said to myself, if this is
working for everybody else, youmight as well just give it a
shot.
And it, if it's not real or it'snot true.
Then what do you stand to loseif it's getting people sober and
(20:26):
changing their lives?
What are you here for?
If that's not that, and I talk alot about this now that it was
not an overnight thing.
I had to, first of all, I had toget out of the way of it.
And I had to identify those Godmoments we were talking about.
This is not, he's been there thewhole time.
And and then I had theseepiphanies and these like grand
(20:48):
moments where for the first timein my life, I knew I was gonna
die.
If I didn't change something andI wasn't able to do at other
treatment programs or jails andinstitutions, I would think, oh,
I can just start with a littlebit, build my tolerance up and
I'll be back at it again.
Before I know it.
I didn't feel that anymore.
I don't, to this day I feel likethe next hit I'm gonna die.
(21:11):
You know what I mean?
And I, and especially now thatI've worked so hard, I know that
would be the time that I woulddie.
You know what I mean?
Like, when I was in the throwsof it, it wasn't like I didn't
have anything to lose.
But even early on, before I hadthe blessings in my life again.
I knew that it was, I knew itwas a death sentence, man.
I got friends that are dyingdaily that are active junkies
(21:34):
and it's killing them with onehit.
Wow.
And they do it every day, so Iknow that I don't stand a
chance.
And that's a good thing for meto think, that's important.
And so therefore I know I can'tdrink a beer because if I drink
a beer, I'm gonna go get what Ilike.
I can't smoke pot'cause I'mgoing to immediately wanna alter
that to the other way.
(21:54):
And it's not enough.
And so therefore I can followall the fellowships.
So I remember sitting in ameeting and saying I didn't know
how to pray.
I didn't know what that lookedlike.
I knew the concept, but how tolike truly pray.
And my sponsor is a devoutCatholic unwavering faith, and
he gave me so much grace.
(22:15):
Like he would say, just talk tohim.
Or I'd say, man I don't know ifI'm gonna be Catholic or go
back.
I grew up Presbyterian, firstPres downtown if I'm gonna be
Presbyterian Baptist.
He was like, Hey, you're rightwhere you need to be.
And that's all he'd say to me.
And, he would share on hisfaith.
But it was never, you need to,or you've got to.
(22:36):
He was, oh, he just, you'reright where you need to be.
And that's the end of part twoof Adam Johnson's story.
And something he said, severalthings he said really hit me
hard and just made me think.
But there was one thing inparticular when he was talking
about how he realized that hecould have become comfortable
with being homeless, and hetalked about the idea of years
(23:00):
going by and decades even forsome people.
And he said if he knew that inhis heart, if he didn't change
something.
His whole life could be gone Andthat really made me think, and I
hope there were some things inthis episode that the Lord used
to speak to you as well.
I wanna give you a couple ofstatistics in light of Father's
Day that we just had.
(23:21):
I sure hope that all of you hada wonderful Father's Day
recently, this past weekend, andI wanna give you a couple of
statistics related to drugaddiction, substance abuse, and
homelessness.
I.
In children who grow up withouta present and loving father,
there is nearly a three timeshigher risk of homelessness for
(23:43):
those kids when they get older.
And if you were to assess theindividuals in all of these
substance abuse treatmentprograms across our country.
You would find that 75%, threeout of every four individuals
who are trying to break freefrom a drug addiction or a
substance addiction who are inone of the treatment programs
(24:04):
around the country, three outtafour of those individuals grew
up without.
A present father in their lives.
Fathers are needed.
Fathers are crucial, and so veryimportant.
And so in light of the recentFather's Day, we just had, I
hope everyone again had awonderful Father's Day.
And I wanna encourage you, ifyou are a father, be present, be
(24:26):
involved, love your kids.
Train your kids, teach yourkids, help your kids, guide your
kids.
Be there for your kids.
Be present and loving in theirlives, and it will make a huge,
huge difference.
God bless you, and don't missnext week because we will hear
the conclusion and you'll hearhow things really turned around
(24:50):
for Adam.
the next thing you'll hear inhis story is.
A supernatural experience thathe had because he had his heart
opened up and surrendered toreceive a message from God.
He was ready to listen.
He was ready to receive, and Godsaw that and God met with him
(25:10):
and he will tell you about thatnext week.
God bless you, and we'll be backthen.
Phil Shuler (25:16):
We look forward to being with you again next week
as we share another testimonyabout the power and the goodness
of God to change lives throughSafe House Ministries.
if you are someone listening tothis podcast that loves to hear
these stories of the greatthings that God is doing in
changing people's lives for thebetter, and if you would like to
be a part of that work, pleasereach out to us You can reach us
(25:38):
at 2101 Hamilton Road, Columbus,Georgia, 31,904.
You can call us at seven oh sixthree two two.
3 7, 7 3, or you can email us atinfo@safehouse-ministries.com.
Microphone (Samson Q2U Mi (25:54):
Thank you so much for being with us
this week for the renew restoreand rejoice podcast of safe
house ministries, we pray thatGod will bless you this week.
And we look forward to havingyou back with us again next week
for a new episode.
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