My name is Timothy, I am 50 years old and have been in the addiction lifestyle for around 35 years. I spent most of my childhood being bounced back and forth between my parents or older siblings due to my parents being alcoholics. I am the youngest child of 7 and almost all of us have struggled with addiction at some point in our lives. In junior high i started experimenting with alcohol first and soon after I started using drugs too. It wasn’t long before I was in trouble with the law and in school. I have been to prison more times than I want to admit. It is not something I am proud of at all, however going to prison and doing time has greatly influenced who I am today. I would be lying if I said that prison didn’t change me or give me a certain mindset about life and the world. Most of my life I thought being an addict was just a part of life. It wasn’t until after my son was born 7 years ago that I started thinking about wanting something different out of life. I was tired of the lifestyle and the rules that go along with it. I wanted to be home with my son and be a dad. Although I have been a dad for several years, as I have 4 daughters that are older than my son, I wasn’t a constant figure in any of my daughters lives. If I learned then what I learned after my son was born, my girls memories of their dad wouldn’t be tainted with long absences and time apart from each other. It was hard in the past for me to have a successful and healthy relationship when I grew up surrounded by dysfunction. Addiction is a vicious cycle that will continue to spin you around, wreaking havoc in your life, until your life becomes so unbearable, uncomfortable, and unmanageable, that you decide you cant live like that anymore. I wanted something different for myself and my children, so I tried something I’ve never tried before and got sober! I went to IRT for 90 days and the minute I got out of IRT, I went and picked my son up and it was just the two of us for the next two years. I accomplished so much in this time that I had a good job, a home for my son and I, food on the table, money in the bank and good friends to be around. I was finally living the life I never thought was possible. My son then got taken from me again from his mom and I wasn’t able to see or talk to him for over a year. I quickly fell back into addiction. When I finally got to see him again, it was supervised visits at he Family Resource Center three times a week. As the next year gone by, I got another call from my sons mom and it wasn’t even an hour later when she dropped him off to me. It was 10 days before Christmas, so I was ecstatic. I finally had my son home again and I didn’t care what the reason was. Unfortunately it wasn’t long before I got a surprise visit from DHS that informed me that they had already been looking for my son’s mom and there was an investigation for child neglect. I was resistant on following the expectations of DHS at first, as I was caught up in my own addiction. When I finally realized that in order for my son to come home to me where he belongs, I needed to cooperate with DHS before it was too late and I lost him. I have now been sober again since November 9, 2024. In this time, I have once again gained full time employment, a house to live in for me and for my son to come home to. I have successfully completed outpatient groups and therapy. I’m also in another parenting class and have gained a life coach through attending these. I attend church every Sunday and have a closer relationship with GOD now. Getting sober again has changed my life in many positive and beautiful ways. I truly feel blessed to be sober and on the road to bringing my son back home that will be healthy. I now have the clarity to see the amazing future in front of me. A future I could never see before. My family is what I need, the love I get from them makes me much more happier than anything else in life. I now make sure every minute spent is showing my kids how much I love them and how grateful I am to be present in all of their lives. Anyone can do this, you just have to make the choice and take it one day at a time!