Tucson pastor’s recovery program draws on personal experience

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TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) – If you visit Victory Outreach Tucson, you may know Pastor Sal Perez. But before he became a pastor, Perez had a difficult upbringing.

“I grew up in a broken home. I grew up in a family home where my father was an alcoholic. And there was some abuse in the game, ”he says.

Perez says: “I was looking for this family atmosphere. I was looking for love. Adoption. And I looked at gangs and my friends. “

Gradually, Perez fell deeper and deeper into this lifestyle. It was only a matter of time before he ended up behind bars for the crimes he committed with his family.

During that time, Perez actually had a wife and three children. He says his wife describes it as a very difficult time in her life because Perez couldn’t be the father or husband he knew had to be.

After spending four years in prison, Perez got the chance to start over.

He says: “So I went to my Siegheim. It allowed me to distance myself from my neighborhood gang, drinking, and drugs. I could go to this home and get the help that I personally needed as an individual. “

Victory Outreach is a local program that hosts men who want to get back on their feet. You can house around 30 men to give them the support they need to start over. They recommend staying for a year to get the maximum results from the program.

“One thing I’ve always realized is that I can never go back and change my past, but I could build a new future,” says Perez. So he decided to build a new future.

He says: “Every day of sobriety has helped me have hope for the next day.”

Then Perez says that he has found his true calling in life. “The help I received is now what I have determined all of my life. To help people organize their lives and give them hope and opportunities for change. “

He has been part of the Tucson Program for 31 years now, helping break stereotypes and transforming lives.

“Once addicted to drugs, always addicted to drugs. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. But I think we are living proof that there is hope and that change can take place, ”says Perez.

Thanks to his support system, he was able to continue serving the greater Tucson area.

He says, “I thank God that she is still here. She really is the best part of me. “

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