Riley Blake was a mess. Strung out and high on drugs, he was in no fit state when he answered the knock at the door one July evening in 2006. “I thought it was one of my dealers,” recounts Riley today. Instead, it was Salvation Army pastors Andrew and Darlene Morgan, who had made the house call after putting in a gruelling 12-hour day at Toronto’s Harbour Light, a community church and addictions treatment program.

Captains Andrew and Darlene Morgan had followed up on Riley in his absence from Harbour Light, and were concerned. “They came looking for me!” says Riley, still amazed at his good fortune.

They didn’t condemn him or walk away in disgust. “They didn’t force the issue,” relates Riley. “All they said was, ‘This is not the person that we know. If you need us, give us a call. We’ll be there to help.’ ”

Spiral of Addiction
Born and raised in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Riley’s childhood was nightmarish. Abused by siblings, every day was a waking horror.

A compassionate sister-in-law took pity on him and the 17-year-old moved to Toronto. But instead of a new start, Riley found loneliness and began turning to drugs to blot out his abusive past. Soon, he was hooked on heroin and crack cocaine, a cycle of addiction that lasted for more than 25 years. He wandered away from the safety of home and family.

In the early 1980s, a homeless Riley contacted the Harbour Light treatment program. “I remembered The Salvation Army from growing up in Newfoundland,” he recalls. Harbour Light arranged for transitional housing and he re-established contact with his sister-in-law. Things were looking up.

Riley managed to stay off drugs for a few years but began smoking marijuana, which led back to crack cocaine. In the process, he contracted HIV/AIDS from an abusive partner.

“It took a full year for me to come to terms with it, to let people know I had it,” remembers Riley. The only way he survived was as part of a trial study for AIDS medication conducted by a local hospital. “I was diagnosed with full-blown AIDS and was given six months to live,” says Riley. “Nine months later, through the grace of God, the disease went from fatal to non-detectable. It was a miracle.”

But worse was to come. Back in Newfoundland, his mother refused to have anything to do with him—“she basically told me I would have to bury myself”—and his beloved sister-in-law suffered a fatal heart attack. “I found myself with nothing and nobody,” says Riley. “I figured I wasn’t worth anything.”

Homeless and back on drugs, he neglected the medication he needed to maintain his health in the fight with AIDS and he became ill once again.

This was how the two Salvation Army captains found him that hot July night.

Next to God
That fateful visit got Riley back on track. “I started doing some serious praying and asked God to show me a way out.”

Riley found his way to God and The Salvation Army. He considers the Army the family he lost all those years ago when he left Newfoundland. “I came home to a family with welcoming arms and a loving heart,” says a grateful Riley. “They were there when I needed them. I have more support here than any person would ever find, be they gay, straight or indifferent.” Even during his pain-wracked months, Riley continued to attend church every Sunday. “I’m grateful that I belong to a church that accepts me for who I am.”

It’s been a rough year for Riley. New medication almost killed him before the doctors were able to adjust the dosage. It took five months for his body to adjust. “I spent most of that time curled up on my couch in a fetal position, trying to deal with the pain.” He also developed a painful case of shingles, which turned into chicken pox. “This year has not been fun,” Riley laughs.

Last November, Riley celebrated a full year of sobriety. He used that anniversary to start volunteering again and is particularly inter

Although it can be very difficult at times, Riley is determined to be open about his struggle with AIDS. “I think I can help somebody who is in the same position I was in.” He wants to use his experiences to help others find a place of caring and hope, just as he has.

“The most amazing part of my journey,” concludes Riley, “through the struggle with addiction and the battle with AIDS, was to find God standing with me.”

by Ken Ramstead and Kim Walter