Thirty-two years on Christmas Eve I was living in an entirely different world. I was homeless. My bedroom was a stolen car. I had a heroin habit that cost over $100 a day. I drank alcohol whenever I could steal some. There were warrants for my arrest. I was at the end of a long drug run. My life was going nowhere and I wasn't sure whether I was going to live or die. And the strange thing is that I didn't much care about where I was at in life, not really,
Yet, against all odds, three weeks after that Christmas Eve, my life took a sudden turn and I was on the path to recovery. Exactly what led me to get sober I'm not sure. I know that I wasn't okay with the way I was living on New Year's Eve of 1991. I found myself having one-sided conversations with myself about doing something different with my life. If I didn't change I was going to wind up in jail, prison, a mental institution or a cemetary.
One day, in the second week of January, 1991, I found myself calling places where I could detox from the various substances I was using. And, I finally found a place in Mesa, Arizona, that had an open bed even though I had no money or insurance. January 13, 1991 I entered that facility and never looked back.
After spending 11 days going through the detox process, I found a halfway house that would accept me without funds. I'd planned to spend 30 days there, then find work and a place to live. However, I lived there for a year while I got my life in order,
When I left the halfway house I moved into a beat-up old triplex, which I converted into a halfway house of my own. My plan was get enough space to house 50 people and open my own recovery program. I worked a full time job while I rehabilitated that tri-plex. I soon had so many clients that I had to started working at the halfway house fulltime. Within 18 months I had 150 residents and was seeking space for more.
Before I go on here for too long I want to say that I never expected the success that TLC has had over the past 30 years. I had no grand plan, other than to work at helping others to get sober - just like people had so generously helped change my life.
I have been blessed beyond my dreams, while living in the world of recovery.
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