Meet Andrew: “This Week Changed Everything for Me”
When Andrew arrived at Greenhouse Project over the summer, he carried a lifetime of weight on his shoulders — guilt, trauma, exhaustion, and two decades of addiction that never quite loosened their grip.
When we interviewed him, it was clear his story isn’t tidy or shiny. But it is honest.
Years ago, Andrew’s world shattered when his six-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted by a family member. It was a moment that rewired his life and sent pain rippling across generations. His older daughter developed survivor’s remorse and spiraled into addiction, fighting for her life on the harsh streets of Kensington.
“I’ve seen her eating out of trash cans,” he shared quietly. “And I blame myself.”
The imagery is graphic and heart-wrenching. It’s hard to imagine what that depth of pain inside his fatherhood journey has felt like.
Andrew’s own addiction led him in and out of jails and prisons, trading one substance for another but never finding peace. At one point, he even worked in a rehab, convinced that “giving back” would be the thing that finally healed him. It wasn’t.
He describes one surreal moment — sitting in jail, watching an Eagles game in the dayroom with fellow inmates, as his own commercial aired on television. Just weeks earlier, he had peaked in a career moment that had his face on billboards outside Lincoln Financial Field… ironically, sharing inspiring messaging about sobriety.
“You can polish a turd,” he joked during the interview, “but it’s still a turd. On the outside I looked fine. On the inside, I was broken.”
What Happened Next Changed Everything
When Andrew walked into Greenhouse Project, he expected more of the same — programs, rules, meetings. Instead, he encountered something he’d never experienced anywhere else:
Real relationship. Real care. Real faith.
The pastors sat with him. They listened. They helped him untangle the resentment he’d held for 15 years — resentment he believed he had to carry. When he finally let it go, something shifted.
“For the first time in years, I’ve slept. I didn’t even realize what peace felt like.”
And then something even stranger happened:
“I started reading Scripture and the words just… made sense. Things started falling into place that were too perfect to be coincidence.”
Just eight days into being here, Andrew described himself as “really, really happy” — hopeful in a way he hasn’t felt in decades.
Why Greenhouse Stands Apart
Andrew has been in “a lot of places.” Meetings. Programs. Rehabs. Therapies. Sponsorships. Nothing stuck.
But here? He says it feels different in every way:
“They remember your name.”
“They treat you like a person, not a number.”
“The community loves us — neighbors say good morning.”
“The smiles at food outreach… I finally understand why John does this.”
“There’s no place like this. None.”
His words — unpolished, direct, honest — are the heartbeat of why we do what we do.
You Make Stories Like This Possible
When you donate to Give to Grow, you open doors for men like Andrew to finally experience real healing, real identity, and real hope.
And if you asked Andrew what he thinks? He told us in this interview:
“If I had the money, I’d donate everything I have.”
Because hope this real deserves to keep spreading.