FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – When most of us think of college signing day, we imagine high school athletes signing letters to play a sport.
But this time, it meant something a little different for the Fresno Mission.
A ceremony Friday marked an important step for people enrolled in the Fresno Mission’s recovery program and signaled a chance for a fresh start.
Fresno Mission CEO Matthew Dildine said the group undergoes a mental and physical transformation, thanks to a partnership with Fresno City College.
“We have men and women who are cycling out of homelessness, addiction, prison…who now have a chance to re-write their futures with a letter of intent. They’ve signed up as part of our program to be college students at Fresno City College, where they actually receive credit while they’re going through our program,” Dildine said.
“When they think of themselves as a college student, it starts to change who they think of themselves, right?… This is all recognizing someone’s potential so that you can be in the depths of your addiction, sleeping under a bridge, sleeping in a tent, and go to a place that you’re not only in college, but you actually graduate with a future,” Dildine said.
That includes people like Joshua Rodriguez. He said, “I’m just grateful to be a part of the Mission and just to have the opportunities that are presented right now at this present time, going to college and getting enrolled in college and job hunting.”
He overcame unthinkable odds to get to College Signing Day.
“I didn’t think it was possible at a certain point in my life. But yeah, I’m here, and I believe it now,” Rodriguez said.
It’s a similar feeling for Charlena Charcho.
“To be honest, I thought that I would just continue doing what I was doing and not be able to change my life. But I did it with God, and I did it through the program,” Charcho said.
Charcho eventually wants to become a counselor because she believes it’s never too late for your fresh start.
“I’m eager to do that to help other people in the same situation that I was in.”
