“The Consequences Were Never Enough” True Stories of Addiction Video
Joseph was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He grew up in poverty with his mother after she and his father got divorced. He went through many trials and tribulations early in life. After many bouts of in-school suspension, it was recommended that his mother take him to see a doctor to determine if there is anything different about him. A doctor diagnosed him with ADD and he was immediately prescribed Ritalin. He was taking the medication before school and at lunch.
Eventually, the marijuana use wasn’t enough for Joseph. He began to start drinking. He was stealing alcohol from his stepfather and refilling the bottles with water to try to hide his alcohol use.
Now is your chance to support Gospel News Network.
We love helping others and believe that’s one of the reasons we are chosen as Ambassadors of the Kingdom, to serve God’s children. We look to the Greatest Commandment as our Powering force.
Joseph was incarcerated many times between the ages of 12 and 16. He started lying to get the drugs that he wanted. He claimed that his stepfather beat him and at one point tricked psychiatrists that he had anxiety in order to gain access to the drugs that he loved so much.
Joseph was sent to the Youth Recovery Academy in an attempt to get him clean from drugs. He made a resolution to himself while he was in the facility that he was going to stop using drugs and only allow himself to enjoy drinking responsibly to avoid alcoholism.
After living under bridges in canals, Joseph realized that he had hit a low point in life. The consequences of addiction finally caught up to him in a big way. On December 1, 2009 Joseph went to meet his dealer at a local gas station where he was arrested by the police for previous acts of shoplifting, he had committed. He was sent to a complex in Florence, where he completed a 12-step program to get recovery from alcohol and drugs. Before being released in 2010, he wrote letters to everyone in his family. He got a letter from his father that explained that he needed to make a true change in his life if he was ever going to have a good life. The letter impacted him enough to go to a halfway house after his release.
Later, Joseph started Sanctuary Social Living which was a halfway house for others who are in the same situation that he was in. He’s also able to use his life experiences to motivate others to become sober and get the life that they deserve to live by working as a Volunteer for the Arizona Department of Corrections. He’s now living the life that he always wanted to live and is sober and happier than ever.
