Living in Recovery House of St. Louis for over three years and managing one of the houses for more than two years changed my life forever. It was the only time I stayed sober after roughly 17 treatments. The first person my dad and I met with from Recovery House was John Stuckey. At the time, I couldn’t believe that this was where life led me. I literally wanted to die, and I prayed for that for some time. I had lost all hope and did not see a way out of my using and drinking.

Once there, I saw 31 men living in a convent as the end of the road, but in reality, it was just the beginning. The gift of desperation was a great blessing. Seeing John Stuckey and Jordan Hampton and others daily, whose lives had been changed by this process and were now helping others, gave me hope. Being surrounded by others in recovery, having accountability, structure, being on the right medications, and finding my own path with all this support has led me to working in recovery today, helping others like myself inside and outside of my career.

This experience saved my life, it gave me my family back, and so much more, but it was also a crash course in substance abuse and those struggling with this disease. I witnessed how just talking to a Peer kept someone from going back out, having rent paid for one month kept them from being homeless and allowed them to work on their recovery early on, which would end up saving their life, and how something like providing a week of food for someone kept that person from getting off track. It truly is the little things that many times go unnoticed that help people succeed. So many people are affected by addiction and not just the one suffering from it. The ripple effect of helping people in their time of need can be amazing for everyone.

ARCHway fills in these gaps, assisting those in need with financial help and connecting them to resources. They even have Peers in Recovery who can talk to those currently struggling with addiction. This is called their Advocates for HOPE Program, in which I am one of their Advocates, so don’t hesitate to reach out!

I would not trade my past for anything as it got me to where I am today. But I had help which many do not. I just want someone struggling to have the same help and resources I had, that is why I believe so strongly in ARCHway’s mission and why I support this organization. I hope you support it too as it does save lives.