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Changing Lives: Marcus & Sal

Case management, anti-violence services, counseling, support groups, substance abuse treatment. You’ll want to protect your heart with bubble wrap when you hear their whole stories and how the Montrose Center helped them turn their lives around.

“I was born to be nobody.”

Being 13 was one of the hardest years for Marcus. Bullying forced his whole family to move into neighborhoods and schools. His extended family rejected him because he was too effeminate. Too gay. That same year, his mother was murdered. It was the year he first tried to take his own life. In the years to come, Marcus was beaten to a bloody pulp and had his head bashed. He graduated from alcohol to cocaine. He’s not that same person any more.

“I just didn’t fit in this world.”

Sal hated the image in the mirror and was ready to end it all, taking a bowl full of pills. Coming out of a drug-induced fog, Sal woke up and had been sexually assaulted. The rape kit was traumatic and humiliating. Sal was deeply depressed. The suicide didn’t work. Nobody understood. Sal didn’t understand. But then a call to a crisis hotline set a chain of events in motion that ultimately saved Sal’s life.

It’s the end of a remarkable year for us at the Montrose Center. Please consider investing in the work we’re doing with people like Marcus and Sal. Yes, we love all donations both financial and in-kind, but what we also need is for you to be inspired to spread the word. It took a lot of courage for Marcus and Sal to let you into their personal lives and tell you about their darkest times. Please watch this video and share it with one other person. Tell people you know about how we’re Empowering LGBT Houston, so we can keep doing it.

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