About Ian Butler

My life began on the streets. My mother took me from shelter to shelter and most of my earliest memories are of struggle, hunger and fear. It was when I wandered into a soup kitchen at age 5 that my life was changed forever. There I met Katie Andrews, an anything but average woman who saw something in me and took me under her wing.

She became a second mom to me; she went to parent teacher conferences, instilled values and morals and took me to weekly bible studies. She taught me to be a gentleman, to be humble and to be a man of integrity. She loved me like I was her child, I WAS her child. I call her mom, because she WAS my mom.

After living with Katie for about a year, my biological mother found a home for me and I went back to live with her. But the new home she had secured for us was in St. Louis, MO. I never lost contact with Katie and she would fly out to see me, or fly me to San Diego, CA.

Around the age of 18, I left home to live on my own and fell in with the wrong crowd. I began using drugs and severed ties with Katie, knowing she’d never approve. In 2009 I accidentally overdosed and that was the wake-up call that I needed.