We want to tell you our stories.

Stories that are real.

We've been down there. More than once. Alcohol. Drugs. It feels the same when you hit that bottom. Boom.

You feel lost. We lost everything. Our families. Our places to stay. Our jobs. Lost all we owned. Lost all our hope.

You don't know how you can ever get back. It's like rolling a big rock up a big, long hill. The least little slip can send you all the way back down.

A way back up can start with a place called Urban Housing Solutions and their program, Journeys of Hope.

You have your own apartment. It's safe, secure and clean. With rent you can afford.

It's close to everything you need: grocery stores, bus lines, laundries. And far from what you don't. There are no drugs or alcohol. Everyone there is in recovery.

They have apartment houses all around Nashville. They're there with you. They help you get to work. They help you get counseling. They help you get well.

You have to stay clean and sober. You need to keep a job. And you have to be serious.

With help from Urban Housing Solutions and its program, Journeys of Hope, many others have gotten back on their feet. Gotten better jobs. Moved up into their own homes. Recovered their lives.

A few of their stories are presented here. They're just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty more just like them. Just like us.

We made it. You can make it. You can really make it.

Since 1991, Urban Housing Solutions has helped create just that: Solutions

From the end of 1999 through mid-2001 more than 80% of those in the Journeys of Hope program achieved sobriety for at least 12 months.

Many were able either to rent or buy their own home. Many other participants got better paying jobs or made positive career moves. Some earned G.E.D.s or completed continuing education. Others were able to buy their own cars or earned enough to open savings accounts.

To some, these may seem like small accomplishments. But to people trapped at the bottom by drugs or alcohol, they have been important successes along the journey back to a new life.

The following stories represent just a small sampling of some of the successes that have come out of Urban Housing Solutions.