Richard became involved in counseling in 1997 when a mother asked him to counsel her daughter who was coming home again to live, and was bringing with her a 20 year addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. She had heard about Richard’s fifteen-year struggle with alcohol and drugs and was encouraged how God had delivered him.

Richard’s parents were divorced when he was two years old because his father was a violent alcoholic. Unable to handle the stress of taking care of an infant plus a 12 year old daughter, his mother asked her sister and her husband to take him temporarily until she could get back on her feet. This “temporary” situation with his aunt and uncle lasted until he graduated from high school.

Barely graduating from high school, Richard was very angry and bitter at his parents for abandoning him, and he resented his uncle for the way he was treated. By this time his sister was an alcoholic and Richard, trying to cope with the pain of his childhood, began to drink heavily as well. This led to a destructive lifestyle that included years of alcohol and drug abuse.

It was after moving to Atlanta hoping to make a new start that God intervened in Richard’s life and he received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. After making that decision, God miraculously delivered Richard from alcohol and drugs and began healing his heart. God then enabled him to restore his broken relationships with his mother, sister, aunt and uncle and he had the privilege of praying with each of them to receive Christ. (His father had died in 1963.)

Since beginning the counseling ministry to help others get free from the bondage of alcohol and drugs, Richard expanded into marriage and individual counseling. This came about as many clients became clean and sober, and other unresolved issues surfaced in the marriage relationship. Marriage counseling became a critical element in restoring and strengthening relationships that had suffered for years due to substance abuse. In addition, there were other clients who had already lost their families and needed individual counseling.

Richard also counsels individuals, couples, and families where no substance abuse has been present, but where there is a need for healing and restoration of marriages and family relationships.