My name’s Kevin. I’m an alcoholic.
I’m a guide here at Discovery Place. I’ve worked here for a little over a year and a half. Essentially what that means is that I show the guys the same thing that was shown to me: I help him through the Steps. I also help them with outside issues, like family life, and work life, and trying to get all the pieces of the puzzle put back together. More often than not, though, I’m just a listening ear and I offer my experience and the things that I’ve dealt with, guys can relate and know that what has worked for me will work for them.
On average, I speak to families once to twice a week. I know that the hardest part of treatment is being away from the ones that you love. And so, I think that being in communication with them, and allowing them to be in communication with their family, is important. I also invite them out here to all of our events, with our Family Nights every Friday night. I know that the more the family is involved in the guest’s recovery, the better their chances.
What I enjoy most about this job is the freedom that it gives me to be myself and just share with other guys who are currently going through the things that I have not only been through, but have conquered. You know, it’s such an amazing thing to watch guys grow, and sometimes you don’t see growth in yourself, but you see it in other people, man. And when I see other people grow, I can see how far I’ve came.
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I am a three-time convicted felon. I’m not allowed to own a gun or boat. I have been in and out of treatment since 2016. The longest amount of sobriety I have had in that period was probably nine months — and I was miserable. But I just didn’t know, you know? I was just trying to stay out of trouble. I’ve been hospitalized twice for endocarditis. I’ve been an IV drug user for the last 10 years. I’ve been homeless a few times. I’ve been unemployed. I’ve been to the bottom of the barrel more times than I’d like to admit, and there is a way out. And if you’re looking for it, please, please, please don’t hesitate to call.
“When I see the light come on in guys, when I see guys hear my experience and know that there’s a way out, there is no words for the feeling I get when that happens.”
I got sober here at Discovery Place, and after I started working here, my brother called me, and he was in a dark place. He had been drinking daily. He was on the verge of losing his job and apartment. Things were not going well. I hadn’t really been pushing him to get sober, per se, but I know that he could see from the way my life had evolved that something was different. And he called me, and he was just really bad off, and he finally asked for some help. And so, me and another employee here went to visit him. And I’ll never forget whenever we showed up, he’s sitting there in the dark, all the lights off, Netflix rolling, tears in his eyes. And me and the other guy walk in, and he looks at me and he’s like, “Oh, no, I know what this is!”
He assumed that we were there to do an intervention of sorts. But, you know, we sat down with him, we let him cry it out, and then we told him that if he would come with us, we could make things better. And he decided to come with us, and he’s still sober today, man. That’s only by the grace of God.
Guys, if I could describe the feeling I get when I see the light come on in guys, when I see guys hear my experience and know that there’s a way out, there is no words for the feeling I get when that happens. But, you know, the smile on my face and the energy in the room and just, like, the community here at Discover Place is unmatched, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I love my job.
