Answer Addiction

Tag: active addiction

  • Woman Celebrates 364 Days Of Sobriety After 33 Years Of Addiction

    Woman Celebrates 364 Days Of Sobriety After 33 Years Of Addiction

    “The longer I’m clean the more I like myself the way I am and I don’t need all those things,” said the Washington-based woman.

    A year ago, if residents of Port Angeles, Washington, saw Jenni Tiderman standing on a street corner, it was likely that she was panhandling or trying to score her next fix. This week, however, Tiderman was out for an entirely different reason, holding a sign on the street corner celebrating 364 days of sobriety. 

    “I’ve received so much support from this community, it’s amazing,” Tiderman told The Peninsula Daily News. “At first people thought I was out there panhandling… but this is just to spread awareness and hope that this can be done. If you knew me when I was out there in my active addiction, where I’m at right now is absolutely amazing.”

    Tiderman was addicted to meth, marijuana, alcohol for 33 years, she said.

    However, she has now been sober for a year. “The longer I’m clean the more I like myself the way I am and I don’t need all those things.”

    She couldn’t celebrate publicly on her one-year anniversary because her sister was getting married that day. It’s clear that family is important to Tiderman, who has been able to reconnect with her six children over the course of the year.

    Her sister, Tami Maupin, has been sober from meth and heroin for two years and was on hand to celebrate Tiderman’s milestone. 

    “I get to give her the one year coin,” said Maupin. “I didn’t know she could make it here… but I feel more confidence in her daily. She’s doing the stuff she’s supposed to be doing and I’m so proud of her.”

    Maupin said that she keeps a close eye on her sister, helping her navigate recovery. 

    “She’s come so far in a year and she has a long ways to go. She’s far from cured, but I trust her and I couldn’t say that a year ago. I trust her today, and that’s pretty huge.”

    Tiderman’s father, Dale Tiderman, said that his family is all healing now that Tiderman is sober. 

    “We’re all just really proud of her and how she’s been doing,” he said. “You can’t force someone to get better; they have to want it themselves. She finally found and seized the opportunity and she’s doing it.”

    The Rev. Jason Himmelberger, who is Tiderman’s pastor, said that she is an example of what can happen when the community supports people in recovery. 

    “The community support has helped her quite a bit and that’s where I think it’s so important for us as a community to remember that people struggling with addiction are sons and daughters too. If we are to apply that same support to all of them, what would that do in their lives?”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Drug Court Helped Man Turn Life Around

    Drug Court Helped Man Turn Life Around

    After struggling with drug addiction, a Missouri man was able to change his life with the help of a drug court program.

    A year ago, Casey Barbero was using drugs and getting into fights, a pattern that had defined more than half his life. When an argument with his father turned physical and the police were called, Barbero was ready to surrender.

    “I just sat there and waited for the police with the drugs on me. I knew it was the right thing to do. It was the right time,” he told The Missourian. Instead of being sent to jail, Barbero agreed to attend drug court, a program that connects people with treatment and jobs in an attempt to help them stay sober and out of jail.

    Nine months later, Barbero is the type of success story that the more than 3,000 drug courts around the country strive toward. 

    “He made up his mind from the get-go, ‘This is what I want, I want a different path in life.’ And he’s done that,” said Felecia Jackson-Qualls, a recruiter for Job Point, an organization that works with the Missouri drug courts to help people find employment. 

    Jackson-Qualls said that Barbero’s progress is inspirational and shows what can happen when the justice system opens doors rather than closing them for people who have struggled with substance use disorder. 

    “It brings tears to my eyes because I’m seeing where he’s coming from. And I see where he’s got to. When you see someone go through those different steps and those hurdles and you see them advancing, then we know we’re doing a good job. That makes all the difference in the world to me,” she said. 

    Barbero said that he’s eager to not even think about drugs, but for now he has to confront his substance use disorder each week when he reports on his progress in front of the court. 

    He said, “I pretty much am there now. I am reminded of it because I have to be for drug court. It’s good to remember, but I definitely don’t need to dwell on it.”

    Barbero now works in construction, and has dreams of owning a home and starting a family, things that seemed far away when he was in active addiction. 

    “I want to be in a place where I firmly know what I am, what are my goals for the future and my future plans. Right now, I have a good idea,” he said. 

    Although some people balk at the strict drug court program, Barbero said that the guidance and work requirements have been helpful. 

    “It’s better to be doing that than the stuff I was doing. I’m taking all that time I did waste and learning about things I’m interested in doing.”

    View the original article at thefix.com