When
we started Lamon Luther, our first goal was to help our friend TC who was
living in the woods and had been for quite some time. After talking with TC we
learned that he had a very interesting skill set accompanied by an even more
interesting story. Over the past two years TC’s story has evolved.
We wanted to share his amazing story with you.
“My
names Rodger Curtis but I go by TC. Off and on I’ve been in and out of the woods
for 15 years.”
“I
used to build houses when I first started and I’ve done that for 27 years. When
that fell off I went into warehouse work, and then I went into home remodeling,
so I can basically do just about anything.”
“I
was living in FL working with a home remodeler down there, and he got to where
he wasn’t getting the work so I ended up walking, Plant City, FL back to
Douglasville. Took me a month to get here. Plus I tried to come up this way to
actually find my son, and I ain’t had no luck.”
We
were inspired by TC’s story and his desire to better himself. We picked TC up
for his first day of work on January 2nd 2012. He was the very first Lamon
Luther employee. A year and a half later in the middle of 2013 things were
looking better for TC. He had moved out of the woods and was working a
consistent job, which he enjoyed.
“What
I like doing here at Lamon Luther is working with my hands to craft things that
I never thought I would be able to do.”
“I
try to do the very best I can to really show that old wood can be made to look
new.”
“I
really enjoy seeing the smile on other peoples faces when they get a product
that we put together and really crafted and put our hearts into.”
Things were going a lot better for TC, however there was
still one vice in his life that he could not beat. TC struggled with
alcoholism. It was one of the things that had kept him in the woods for so
long. We encouraged TC to go seek help that we knew we were not equipped to
give him. He tried to go to rehab a few times before but it just didn’t work
out. We then presented TC with a very difficult choice. We told him that
we loved him and wanted nothing more than for him to continue working with us,
but for that to happen he had to get better. We needed him to get help that we
could not give him. TC agreed to go to The Potters House in conjunction with
the Atlanta Mission. We knew the journey would be difficult and it was
hard to lose our first employee, but for TC to get better he needed this
program. TC is a survivor and we believed and stood by our brother.
After
months of recovery we are thrilled to announce that TC is sober and currently
on track to complete his program in the next two months. We we’re able to
talk to him recently and we want to share some of his thoughts.
“Right
now it feels good to be sober for 7 months.”
“I
don’t have no urge of drinkin’ again, I just want to keep my mind clear where I
can focus more on building the furniture. “
“Eventually
I’m going to start looking for my son that I had left about 11 years ago and
try to get back in his life since I’m sober, and be the father that I’m
supposed to be.”
“Maybe
one day I can open my own shop and go out and hire some homeless and teach them
the same trade that’s been taught to me. Then maybe people will start
recognizing the craftsmanship that a lot of us homeless have in
woodworking.”
For
us seeing this happen reminds us of why we started Lamon Luther. We were
able to give TC a hand up instead of just a hand out. He is a different man
because he chose to take action and fight for the man he knew he could be. We
were there to love on him and encourage him along the way and we cannot wait to
celebrate with him when he returns to the shop.
And
here is where you come in!
TC loves receiving letters from us here at the shop.
This month we are asking YOU to write TC a letter and send it in!
We know TC
would love it if you sent a letter to empower and encourage him
on his road to
recovery. If you would like to please mail them to:
Lamon Luther
200 Old Liberty Road (Unit A)
Villa Rica, GA 30180
USA
