MANCHESTER, NH – Joe is just one of hundreds of Manchester residents caught in the grip of the recent opioid epidemic strangling the Queen City and surrounding communities.
Having already lost his long-time job, and facing multiple legal issues, Joe’s addiction to heroin had him on the verge of also losing his wife and daughter and, realistically, his life.
On Valentine’s Day weekend, in the midst of a painful cold snap, with subzero wind chills and no vacancies at any local motels, Joe’s cousin invited him to church. Joe had been to many churches through the years, but this one was different.
Leading The Dialogue Church was Pastor Steve Jesmer Jr., an admitted former addict and drug dealer, who turned his life around at a young age thanks to an unexpected source.
“I can speak from experience. I was a drug addict,” Jesmer said. “If you could roll it up and smoke I was doing it. If you could snort it up your nose I was using it. I desperately wanted to change, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t know how to stop. Then I met hope. And hope has a name, his name is Jesus. Jesus gave me hope for real and lasting change.”
Now, two decades after being transformed from a dope dealer to a hope dealer, Jesmer finds himself in the heart of Manchester, leading a congregation located at 516 Pine St., where heroin overdoses happen every day within blocks, and sometimes feet, of his church’s doors.
He knows it’s no coincidence.
Believing that the local church is uniquely equipped to confront the opioid epidemic, Jesmer and his staff have organized Hope Weekend 2016, April 16 and 17, partnering with dozens of community leaders and organizations to bring hope to a city where all else seems to be failing.
“No amount of state funding, bed availability, or increased legislature alone can solve this problem,” said Jesmer. “I believe the missing piece is hope in people’s hearts. If you have no hope for real and lasting change then you don’t care if there is funding provided, you don’t care if there are beds available, and you don’t care if the laws are stricter on possession or dealing.”
Among those joining Jesmer and The Dialogue Church this weekend at services that take place at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday, are Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas and Police Chief Nick Willard. Though unable to attend in person, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte, has also provided a prerecorded message of encouragement.
In addition to an inspirational message of hope and recovery from Jesmer, and the expressed goal of creating additional awareness and offering support for those struggling with addition, Hope Weekend 2016 presents dozens of resource booths and connection opportunities, city officials, first responders and strategic recovery partners, in addition to live music and free child care with fun activities for the kids.
Light in a darkened place
Admittedly, one of the few details Joe remembers from the heroin-induced fog that consumed his brain during that first service at Dialogue Church was light bulbs hanging from the on-stage ceiling in the basement sanctuary where he sat, but it was in the minutes following that service, just hours after attempting to end his life, that he found a new life. Well, more specifically, he found hope.
Joe’s cousin pulled him aside with Jesmer who, in the kindest way possible, gave Joe a choice. Lose your family and embrace the imminent potential of death, or trust in God and allow Him to pave a way where there seemed to be no way.
In the midst of a lovingly-contentious conversation full of objections and excuses from Joe, he finally threw up his arms and surrendered. He had exhausted all other avenues.
Joe’s cousin brought him to the Farnum Center on Queen City Avenue, a drug and alcohol treatment center, where Joe had already detoxed and gone through rehab on a couple of occasions; a place Joe insisted he wouldn’t be admitted again. He had insurance, but he was sure there was a long waiting list for in-patient care, and besides, he didn’t have the money for the $4,000 deductible that he’d be required to pay, not to mention it was Sunday, so he figured he’d have to come back Monday when his insurance could be processed, anyway.
“Trust in God. He’ll make a way.” Those words rattled around somewhere in the depths of Joe’s subconscious. And then, the pieces began to fall into place.
First Joe’s sponsor, a loving Christian in his own right, offered Joe a place to sleep for the night. The next day, Joe interviewed with a Farnum councilor, and in the days to come, Joe found that not only did he have $1,500 in his medical savings account to help with the cost of detox and intensive outpatient care (IOP), but the councilors at Farnum offered Joe something that was rarely heard of: an interest-free loan for the remaining $2,500.
Joe is now more than a month sober, and he’s eager to share his testimony in front of hundreds of addicts and loved ones attending Hope Weekend at the Dialogue Church this Saturday and Sunday. Joe’s story has already extended to another friend, Jay, who found similar hope through the Dialogue Church. Jay’s now 11 days sober, out of the homeless shelter and staying with a close friend, with the promise of his old job waiting for him following 19 more days of sobriety.
Jesmer and his congregation are praying and expecting miracles for dozens, maybe hundreds of others who, like Joe and Jay, can find a ray of light in a darkened place this weekend.
“Our city is under attack by the spiritual disease of addiction,” said Jesmer. “Over 400 precious lives were lost to addiction in 2015. We can help change that. Addiction is more than a behavioral problem, it’s a spiritual issue. And we are best equipped in the church to address this side of addiction.
“It’s going to take the whole community working together to beat this epidemic and we are ready to do our part,” he continued. “This is not a problem that will just go away, we must take action and we must do it together. Only Jesus can provide real and lasting healing for our hurts, habits, and hang ups. It’s our responsibility in the church to bring our community to Jesus.”
Additional information is available at www.HopeWeekend.info.
