I’m raising funds to record a record in Nashville and launch a ministry focused on addiction recovery. This is deeply personal to me because I am a recovering addict, and now I am sober. 
 
 
 I was raised in the church, and I am a Christian who battled severely with addiction. So much of that struggle was shaped by childhood abuse and trauma, as well as spiritual and physical abuse and trauma I experienced in the church and in the world. I was left trying to be this perfect thing so God could finally love me or even stand to be around me. I saw God the way I saw the world: a place of pain and disappointment, and I believed I was the problem. That false view, mixed with shame, pain, self-hate, and no sense of worth, became my foundation for a long time. 
 
 
 As a child, my innocence was stolen. I also grew up feeling dehumanized and limited as a Black boy in a system that was not built for me to succeed in. Those wounds shaped how I saw myself and my place in the world for years. 
 
 
 Before I found recovery, I knew what it felt like to be rejected, marginalized, pushed aside, marked, isolated, and living in fear and shame for so long. What changed my life was finding a safe place and people who walked with me through the hardest parts, stayed with me, held me accountable, and showed me healthy examples of community, family, and life. I wasn’t alone, and that made all the difference. 
 
 
 What I know now, and didn’t know then, is that God loved me with a love I can’t fully describe, and that he was there, bringing me to where I am now. My journey has not been perfect at all. Healing began when I found a safe place with my therapist, then a church family, which led me to my recovery group and other programs that gave me consistency, accountability, safety, and helped nurture my relationship with the Trinity through both community and personal love for the Father. 
 
 
 It has been a long nine years since I left Nashville and left all of that behind. Back then, I thought it was over in the sense of a fame dream I was chasing. At my lowest point, I lost everything, including my music deal in Nashville, and it was the last thing I could take. I reached a place where death felt like the only solution, and God met me there. That was not the end of my story. In many ways, that was when my life truly started, even though the road from simply being alive in my own skin to now loving life has been long and hard. 
 
 
 Now I see a different purpose in front of me: a kingdom commission I am walking out from personal experience. I have a renewed faith and a deeper understanding of the love of my Father and the Trinity. I believe God is opening doors and creating opportunities that have led to this moment, and that is why I am asking for help now. 
 
 
 Now I want to help create that same kind of support for other people who are struggling. The funds from this fundraiser will help pay for recording the record in Nashville, and they will also help support scholarships for treatment centers, therapy of all kinds, and recovery resources. I want to tell my story, fight to educate, and bring more truth and awareness about addiction, especially for believers and others who battle in secret and need support instead of silence. 
 
 
 My hope is to use both the music and the ministry to reach people who feel pushed aside and remind them they are not alone. I want to pay it forward, shine my light, and maybe reach even one person like me. I want to help create a place where people can be seen, heard, loved, understood, and given somewhere safe to belong. 
 
 
 Addiction does not care whether someone believes in God or not. It does not care about gender, age, race, or affiliation. Please help me make an impact so we can do this together. Thank you for donating, sharing, and supporting this mission.

Errica Sutton

Christina Sheer W

Eleni Kell

Emily Bowles

Nathan McNulty

Steven McCoy

StephanieI V

Ken Calcaterra

Kate Butler

Me Holmes

Matt Hofmann

Deborah Foster

Anonymous

Mike Shiiki

Molly Hendryx

Kelsey Smith

Rachel Murphy

Rochelle Weatherly

Sharif's Record and Recovery Mission

Just $415$ to go! Make an impact.

Sharif's Record and Recovery Mission

Just $415 to go!
Make an impact.