Environment plays a huge part in the way a person perceives life and how they live it. I was just talking to a homeless man, actually just a couple of minutes ago, and he was telling me about his life. He told me how he was trying to find a job but that it was hard because he has a past criminal record and because he has diabetes and arthritis. He also told me that he was a crack cocaine addict but that he did not want to be one anymore and that the only reason that he did crack cocaine was because he was in pain and that everyone else around him was doing it, so it was too hard to stay clean. I talked to him some about the church that my dad works at back home in Richmond. The church is called the Richmond Outreach Center, the ROC. Their main focus is reaching the city of Richmond through over a hundred different ministries. One of their main ministries is called the ROC Discipleship homes. These discipleship homes cater towards individuals from and in rough situations and backgrounds. “Many of the individuals come from backgrounds of substance abuse or situations resulting from poor life decisions. The ROC Discipleship Homes have helped hundreds of individuals coming out of prison, abusive situations, and those coming straight off the streets that just need a chance to turn their lives around through God’s love and the help of others who have walked where they are walking” (www.richmondoutreachcenter.com). Once I explained to him about the program he was so excited and asked if one of the guys could take him tomorrow, and that is in fact what is going to happen. He kept saying that if he got out of this environment then his life would be able to turn around and change and he is so excited. This is just one of the many stories of how environments influence how your life is lived and how it can change around. I know that this story does not directly deal with the wilderness, but it is the same type of situation that happens when people are put into wilderness therapeutic programs.
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