- Alcohol
- Faith
- Mental Health
I have known Roosevelt for over a year now and his very nice personality made him one of the most liked persons in our fellowship. He always had a smile, a hug and a kind word for everyone and works his program very well. He is always polite and helpful. The treatment center that he attended as a patient is where he works now and he is a real asset to our sober community. If you met him now, you would have never guessed about the kind of past life that is behind him. I appreciate that he told me his story and let me share it with you.
Roosevelt grew up in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He is 56 years old today and started drinking at the age of nine. His family moved to Detroit, and he was already shooting dope by the age of 13. His life was going in a criminal direction. He spent about 26 years behind bars in jails and prisons all over the United States. As he says, they were “some of the worst prisons you can imagine.” He knows now that his time in jail and prison was all a direct result of his drugging and drinking.
At some point, he came to believe that he burnt every bridge and was at the end of his road. He knew then that if he left the mental ward this time without treatment, he would die. He asked God for help that day. Less than an hour later, the treatment center called him and said that they had a bed for him. That was in September 2011, when his life began to change.
He was not consciously thinking of committing suicide at any point but he knows now that he was slowly killing himself, even though he didn’t realize it at the time. Having Hepatitis C, he got very intensive chemical therapy and using drugs on top of this almost destroyed his liver. This treatment cost him money, but today his health recovered and his liver is doing fine. He is aware of the fact that, if he began shooting dope or drinking again, his liver would deteriorate. He went to long-term treatment for one year.
Today, he is working at the treatment center that helped him to get clean and sober. He is now a state-certified recovery dynamics instructor and can teach anywhere in the state of Kentucky. He went through all the different phases at the center and still lives at the treatment facility. He is now looking for his own place to live, but continues his work there and help others to achieve sobriety.
Roosevelt likes to tell people who are new to recovery or looking into the option that it is important to surrender. He says that you need a power higher than yourself. No human power could relieve him from his drug and alcohol addiction, but God could and would help if he sought him. Just like the big book says, if you struggle with the “God” piece, it may help to think of a power greater than yourself to recreate your life. Roosevelt believes that recovery is all about recreating your life and that we can’t do it by ourselves. When we admit that we are powerless over drugs and alcohol, that opens up doors for help. He wants you to trust those in your fellowship and accept their help and support for continuing your sobriety.
Roosevelt also wants to point out that we have an allergy to drugs and alcohol. This allergy causes us to have an obsession to drink and drug. If we want to stop on our own, we simply can’t do it, due to this allergy. He also learned during his recovery that he can no longer pick up alcohol in any form. This means that, since he is a drug addict, he can’t drug and he can’t drink as well. He also believes that, for him, alcohol can come in the form of women, compulsive spending, gambling and other “dry forms.” The 12-step programs helped him to identify that. He is very engaged in 12-step groups. In his home group, he visits at least four meetings a week, has a sponsor, sponsors others and has lots of friends in the fellowship of the programs.
Finally, he wants to mention that for 42 years drug addiction, prison, psychiatry, women, jewelry and money were his life. No human power could relieve him from this addiction and this life. But God could help and did help when he was sought.