Denny grew up in a carnival family. He never went to school. Never learned to read or write. Instead, he travelled from town to town, serving up fair food with his parents.
Despite his difficult start in life, he became a hard-working, faithful husband for 32 years. He never did drugs. He didn’t even drink.
But everything changed after a death in the family.
His wife became angry. Nothing he did was ever right.
“I asked her hundreds of times, ‘What’s wrong?’” said Denny. “It just got worse until she became physically violent with me.”
He tolerated the attacks until the day she put all of his clothes and belongings on the front lawn and set them on fire. Denny fled for his life.
“I seriously thought about committing suicide,” he said.
Instead, Denny left for his own safety. He had nowhere to go except Raleigh Rescue Mission.
“The first 30 days were the hardest,” he said. “The program here and the life skills classes helped me realize that I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Denny had to heal from his heartbreak. But he also had the huge task of learning to read and write at 58.
“The Mission gave me a tutor,” said Denny. “Now I can read anything. It’s a great feeling.”
Being able to study the Bible means a lot to Denny. He has also found that he loves to volunteer in our kitchen. Denny was recently hired by Breeze-Thru Markets. He is overjoyed!
“I’m very happy and secure now,” he said. “I’m on top of the world.”