Paul Hobson, a burly 43-year-old former football player, manages the ATLAS Thrift Shop on Fair Oaks Boulevard, which is celebrating its second anniversary.

As a non-profit, the store finances efforts in Carmichael to help needy people turn their lives around by “Attaining Truth, Love and Self-Control.” ATLAS and the store are both about redemption — like Paul’s own life.

Four years ago, Paul was one of the scores of homeless people drifting along the Carmichael’s streets and hanging out in its parks. He slept on the stairs at a local church that sometimes gave him food. When the church asked him to leave, the woman who would become his wife let him live in her apartment until he threw a TV remote at her in a fit of anger, breaking her nose.

The domestic violence arrest that came the next day began another sorry chapter in a Paul’s 20-year downward spiral of drug and alcohol addiction. Beginning at age 18, he had walked in and out of several recovery programs. He always relapsed. Nothing could compete with drugs.

His addiction began when he was about to begin classes at American River College. He had turned out for football practice there and worked a graveyard shift as a security guard to pay his way. To keep alert, Paul started using methamphetamines, known on the street as “meth,” “crank,” or “speed.”

“I was staying up nights, using crank,” he said in a recent interview. “I never made it through the second football practice, and never started classes. I got hooked on crank. You get this great feeling. You’re excited. Everything is fun. It feels great. I started hanging out in bad places.”

Paul called in sick too much to keep his job. He went on the street but still managed to find drugs.

“I continued to use drugs and spiraled downward. I began to have trouble with the law. My father tried to help by getting me into a recovery program for 28 days. It didn’t help because I would still go out and get drugs. There were no drug tests.”

Paul supplemented his addiction with alcohol. At age 25, he totaled his brother’s car and was charged with driving under the influence.

“I got clean for a while, but went back on meth for 8 years. I obtained opiate pills from a doctor, then turned to heroin.”

Still, he managed to stay sober for months at a time. He was sporadically involved with Alcoholics Anonymous and with an AA sponsor.

“Then I went on a bender and was offered Norco in the emergency room. That gave me the idea to call the doctor for more Norco pills. I said I still needed it for pain control. I burned down two apartment kitchens, once while shooting up heroin, and was jailed for a while. After my release, I managed to avoid most of the 160 AA meetings the court ordered me to attend.”

When Paul was arrested later on the domestic violence charge, a breakthrough came in the squad car.

“A cop said, ‘You’re a pretty good guy, inside.’ He asked me if he could pray for me before he took me to jail. In jail, I prayed and promised to quit drugs. I prayed a lot and they dropped the charges. But after my release I went back on alcohol and meth.”

The key turn-around came when Child Protective Services (CPS) referred Paul to a rehabilitation program for 90 days.

“This is when I started to get free from drugs and alcohol. I heard things that made sense. Someone read from the AA book that our only hope is divine intervention. Something came over me. God told me, ‘Stay where you are. You’ll spend Christmas here and all other Christmases with your family.’ I started crying. Then it hit me, ‘I’m not 100 percent in.’ I got down on my knees and prayed, asking God to save my life.

“Little things matter. I needed a ride to a domestic violence class downtown. My wife Cheryl had told me about ATLAS and to call Scott Young (the director). He drove me to class, and then back to rehab. He asked if he could pray with me, and it took off from there. I started to pray regularly and to pay attention. We met once a week. God sent someone my way through ATLAS.”

Released from the rehab program, he attended a CPS-sponsored class for six months and has been sober ever since. Eventually, he became manager after ATLAS leased the store in May 2014.

ATLAS refers people to local and county services and trains volunteers to mentor homeless people, abused women, addicts, and others whose lives are out of control. It also networks with churches and other groups to build community.

Paul receives and prices goods that are donated in an alley behind the store. He also oversees store employees. In his spare time, Paul coaches defensive linemen for a high school football team. He also participates in a men’s small group. And he talks with transients.

“Sometimes, when I see a homeless person in our alley, walking around in worn-out shoes, I’ll offer a pair from our donations, also clothes. I can relate to what it feels like to be homeless. I can say, ‘Hey, I used to be like you.’ Many of them think that nobody can understand what they’re going through.

“God placed me in that alley so I can share my experiences and help. I find out why they’re here and fill Scott in. Right now, I’ve got a guy in a rehab program for a 90-day stay. I’m being mentored by Scott and I watch what he does. There are needs on the streets everywhere.

“There are days when I feel like giving up. Most of the time, I realize that it’s not my job to fix people. But I can touch them if I can be in touch with God.

“Carmichael is coming together. We at ATLAS are here to help. We tell people, ‘We’re accepting your slightly used goods and helping needy people in the community. It’s not an overnight deal, but when you donate, you’re already doing God’s work in Carmichael.’ ”