Rescue Mission helps Valley man for 3 decades

Published Sunday, December 18, 2011, in The Vindicator(Link)

By CAITLIN COOK
TheNewsOutlet.org

YOUNGSTOWN

Alexander Zetts wasn’t sure if he would ever see his children again. Or, if they even wanted to see him again.

He had left his family in 1993 because he and his wife weren’t getting along. He fell into a relentless cycle of alcohol and drug abuse.

Then, in 2003, he learned that his eldest daughter lived near his friend’s home in Campbell. One day, he visited that friend. He walked toward a group of children who were playing and sat across the street. And waited.

When he saw his daughter, he didn’t know what to expect. But he knew what he wanted – his life back.

He saw his daughter point him out to a friend, who then walked through the crowd and asked if his name was Al Zetts. He responded loud enough for his daughter to hear, “Yes. Ask her if her name is Shortcake?”

That is how he started to build a future from the pieces of his broken past.

Now, he spends most of his days and nearly all of his nights on one of the many cots with matching green blankets at the Mahoning Valley Rescue Mission. Zetts, who has battled an addiction to alcohol and crack for 20 years of his life, has an image of what he believes normal life is and that’s what he wants.

The 53 year-old, haggard man recalls the 10-year stint when he had a wife, a job, a family and purpose. The mission on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard has been home to him for nearly 30 years.

“It’s the rock I stand on. It’s a good place,” Zetts said.

Before drugs captivated his days, Zetts worked in the auto industry. He never made a lot of money, but he was able to find enough work to support his family.

He worked at Michigan Hanger Co. of Niles in 1987 as a metal handler for a year and a half. Later, he performed bodywork as needed at various shops for more than 10 years. Zetts also worked at Bart Farms in 1988 for a few months preparing turkeys for Thanksgiving.

“Looking out for my family was my reward. It was fun going to work every day and breaking your back and coming home.”

After leaving his family, he found his need to work decreasing and his need for alcohol and drugs increasing. The last job he had was at a gas station in 2005.

“I just started picking up the alcohol again and smoking crack and taking any drug that I could possibly get to drown the pain and the anger from me leaving my family.”

For two years, he received General Relief checks of $100 a month. He now receives $200 a month in Food Stamps, which he says is enough. At the mission, he finds himself in a giving atmosphere where everyone is looking out for everyone else. To him, the process of coming in broken and working toward a better person is beautiful.

His children are now 29, 28, 23 and 21. Zetts spoke with his wife for the first time in 20 years at their daughter’s house in 2010. It was a simple conversation about the children and that was it, Zetts said.

He visits his daughter every month. His eldest son, who lives in Cleveland, travels to Youngstown to visit his father about every five to six months. Neither visit him at the mission. He still hopes to connect with his two youngest children.

His daughter, who asked that her name not be revealed, didn’t want to talk publicly about her father.

Tony Sylvester, supervisor of men’s services, at the mission believes Zetts’ developing relationships with his children are aiding his recovery. Zetts said the last time he smoked crack was a brief relapse in 2007 and before that 2003.

“She (his oldest daughter) said she didn’t want to lose me again,” Zetts recalled. “Be (a) dad. We’re around, we’re OK, we all want to see you.”

Because of this and the mission, Zetts doesn’t see himself as being poor.

The mission tailors a plan according to clients’ needs. Zetts is in transition and on the waiting list for housing. Sylvester said Zetts has had his ups and downs over the years, but is a pretty good guy.

“He has gone through different phases that I’ve seen personally. At first, he was very secretive on some of his thoughts and actions. This time around it seems like he has come around to realize he has to straighten out his life.”

For the first time, in April, Zetts started attending counseling at Turning Point. He said counseling provides him a chance to open up and express himself. The mission views this as an intrinsic part of Zetts’ recovery.

In the meantime, he helps with various chores, such as cooking or waxing floors, at the mission. He also tries to help others.
“I’m looking at their youth, I’m looking at where that could have been me and now it’s too late,” Zetts said. “I try and help out in the manner of where people are lost the same way I was, down and out on their luck – nothing to look forward to.”

For Zetts, that’s what the mission is about, coming in broken and having a support system to help move forward. He wouldn’t leave the mission if he had his way. He loves the building and believes in the overall goal.

“He wants to be seen as somebody who is a good person, which is difficult for him at times because of his past and history,” Sylvester said. “He has to get past a lot of stuff we’ve seen in him all these years.”

Zetts said the mission gave him a second chance at life and he is wary of leaving the mission for an apartment operated by Meridian Services.

Sylvester believes the move will be positive for Zetts, but there may be some setbacks along the way. However, he isn’t sure if Zetts will ever again be able to earn a living. His right arm has 35 breaks in it, caused from fighting. The injuries limit his ability to perform manual labor.

“That is difficult to say right now, his age is defiantly a factor,” he said.

He is cognitive of the high and numbness drugs gave him as he talks about living with residents in Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.

“I’m balancing the scales. It’s too easy to fall backwards,” Zetts said.

“Once you start drinking and getting high you forget the concept of what you’re actually trying to accomplish for your future. You wind up hurt.”

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