- Alcohol
The consequences of Howard’s alcoholism started at age 17 when he was arrested for the first time. He was sentenced to 80 days of public service and a year of counseling. This is often all it takes for people without addictive behaviors to stop drinking, or to at least moderate it, but it is not for an alcoholic. Howard’s drinking career had just begun.
He got two additional DUIs as a result of his drinking and was locked in jail for over eight months after evading arrest. That seems like a lot, but when he was running from the cops, he forced them into a high speed chase through the streets before he was arrested.
After jail the Army seemed to be a good place to go, but he was discharged early because of his drinking. He ended up on the streets of San Diego after he was also evicted from his home. He managed to live in his car for a couple months but became homeless after he sold it to pay some bills.
In April 1993 he moved to Los Angeles and stayed with a high school friend for six months. Howard told his friend he was actively looking for work, but in reality he was not. He was just drinking. His friend told him he had an alcohol problem even though the friend drank as much as Howard. At some point the friend had enough and dropped Howard off at a hospital’s detox program. This was followed by many years of treatment and three relapses, but Howard didn’t give up. He became sober again in 2004 and has not relapsed since. He went back to school, attends meetings and builds a new life in recovery.
When asked how he changed in recovery, he answered, “I have become a mature man. I have become a responsible human being!” Howard is proud of his strength and that he is able to share his emotions with others: “I respect myself today. I can wake up and love myself. I no longer want to die!” It took him 35 years to be able to tell his mother that he cares about her and to tell other people that he loves them.