PANAMA CITY — This year, John Pigue is thankful for sobriety.
An alcoholic for more than 30 years, Pigue spent Thanksgiving among friends at the Panama City Rescue Mission, where he recently celebrated three months of sobriety in the Addiction Recovery Program.
When he was drinking, Pigue described himself as “soulless.”
“I went from being married with a house and three kids to being on the streets,” said Pigue, a skilled carpenter who now works as the mission’s assistant director of operations. “Sometimes that’s what it takes to change. You’ve got to lose everything ... hit rock bottom.”
Although Thursday marked his first Thanksgiving away from family in Nashville, Tenn., including his three daughters and two granddaughters, Pigue said the faith and fellowship at the mission was a blessing.
“It’s tough, but I know in the long run it’s going to pay off. ... I wasn’t any good to them when I was drinking,” Pigue said of his family, adding that finding faith was the key to breaking his addiction. “I got saved and that was the key. I tried to do it on my own; I tried to control it on my own, but now I let Him control it. God takes care of the addiction.”
Pigue was just one of the more than 300 people the mission fed this Thanksgiving, a tradition that began back when it opened in the early ’70s. This year, the meal was orchestrated with the help of more than 90 volunteers.
“Our cup overflows at Thanksgiving with people wanting to come and help,” said mission development coordinator Amanda Bawn. “We have several volunteers that come a couple days a week and that’s their routine.”
Bawn said the goal of the mission’s feeding ministry is to help prevent homelessness by providing hot meals and food boxes for those in need. And on Thanksgiving especially, the meal also provides the company of others.
“It’s open up to anyone in the community that wants to come and eat,” Bawn said. “Maybe they’re lonely; maybe they can’t afford it. They can come and eat with no questions asked. The whole reason we focus so much on our feeding ministry is because it’s meeting people at their most basic needs.”
The Rescue Mission, which was founded in 1971, now provides 104 beds and has four programs to help the homeless get back on their feet. In addition to the Addiction Recovery Program, the mission is also home to an emergency shelter program, which provides five nights of shelter, a six-month transitional program and a six-month work program, formulated to help residents save the money necessary to move out.
Once Pigue finishes his year-long addiction at the mission next year, he hopes to give back to the community through a career in social work.
“I just love working with the public,” he said. “I can relate. I’d love to give back.”