Humans of GLISS Blog

Today we bring you the story of Cristian.

Cristian is an outstanding employee. We first met Cristian about 6 months ago and he has proved that he is an incredible and dedicated employee and team member. How did it get to be this way?

Cristian had a turning point in his life. A while back he has slipped into the slippery slope of addiction. Wanting and needing his vices to get through the troubles of life. One thing lead to another and Cristian found himself in a whirlwind of hurt. He lost everything. He became houseless and was surviving on the streets. Many of you know, living on the streets and trying to get sober can feel like an impossible feat.

After a time of houselessness Cristian became fed up with his life. “How did I go from living a pretty standard life, to having no place to go and struggling with my sobriety?”. He took stock in his current situation and realized that he was not going to get anywhere, or see any change if he didn’t start making completely different choices.

Life started to look up. Cristian got clean and sober and was living a life that he longed for. The next step was work. He was recommended to come to GLISS, and he walked right through our Salem office doors. As we spoke about previously, Cristian is an incredible person to have on your staff. He recounts that the only way he got through the battle of sobriety and living on the streets was seeking the feeling of accomplishment. Every time he achieved something in his life, it gave him the push to take on his next challenge.

We asked Cristian what piece of encouragement would he share with someone who is going through what he did, and he said “Never lose sight of the HOPE for a better future.”

We are so proud of you for putting in the hard work to become the person you are today!!