Casey’s Story

Hi! My name is Casy, and this is my recovery story.

What It Was Like

I struggled with addiction for many years, never able to get it under control for long. There were countless attempts to get clean, followed by just as many relapses. Each time I thought I had found a way out, I would slip back into the same cycle. My life became smaller and more chaotic. I lived in trailers without working plumbing, places infested with bed bugs—conditions I once would have thought impossible for myself. At times, I didn’t have a place to live at all.

Along the way, I lost my sense of honesty. I couldn’t be truthful with the people who cared about me, and eventually, I stopped being honest with myself. I stole whenever I had the chance. I would even steal from friends—taking their drugs and then helping them search for what I had stolen. Addiction stripped away my values and replaced them with desperation.

Because of this, I was incarcerated multiple times. Each arrest felt like it should have been a turning point, but it never quite stuck. I would get out and find myself right back where I started.

What Happened

Then one day, something shifted. I had a moment of clarity that cut through everything. I remember thinking, What am I doing? I could see it so clearly—I was heading toward prison or death. There wasn’t another outcome waiting for me if I kept going.

I decided to ask for help. Even then, I wasn’t fully committed. While a friend was on the phone with a treatment center for me, I was texting drug dealers at the same time, ready to go wherever I got a response first. By some grace, the facility answered before anyone else did. That moment changed everything.

What It’s Like Now

Today, I have five years clean. My life looks nothing like it did before. I’ve found a kind of peace and happiness I never thought was possible. More than that, I now have the opportunity to help others in recovery—people who feel as stuck and hopeless as I once did—find their own freedom from addiction.

I’ve lost many loved ones along the way, and that loss stays with me. But now, I get to be a voice for them. Through my work at Avenues, I see the light come back into people’s eyes every day. It reminds me why this matters.

Sobriety has given me a life filled with gratitude, love, and understanding—and a future I once couldn’t even imagine.