Bob Hoatson received the following letter from an abuse survivor who received some money from Road to Recovery:

"Dear Bob: I wanted to thank you for the money. You don't know how much the money helps. We go from eating for a week and three weeks my son and I starve. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It's a gift to be able to get up in the morning and eat."

The first cousin of Road to Recovery founder Fr. Bob Hoatson killed himself in the mountains of Morris County, New Jersey on October 10, 1978. The family was devastated. “Jimmy” was a handsome, athletic, talented young man with a wife and two children. It was revealed that he had been sexually pursued and abused by a Christian Brother who taught him at Essex Catholic High School in Newark, NJ. Suicide often occurs in the aftermath of sexual abuse by clergy. Two weeks after Jimmy’s abuser was confronted about the abuse, he dropped dead of heart attack.

Since its inception, Road to Recovery has been fulfilling its mission to address the emotional, psychological, financial, and spiritual needs of survivors. The following letter appeared in the May 20, 2005 edition of the National Catholic Reporter: