John's Road to Recovery
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My name is Emilea and I am a social worker from Huntington, WV. Addiction recovery is something that is very important to me in both a personal setting and a professional setting because I have seen substance abuse reek havoc in the lives of many people close to me, as well as the families I work with.
For the past decade, I have lost several friends to heroin. Some of them lay in coffins and others walk the streets like zombies, unaware of how to change their lives for the better. To some of you, this might not make sense. If you are unfamiliar with the difficultly that surrounds recovery, then I am always willing to help paint a better picture for you. Let's just say.... it's more than "just stopping". It takes entirely changing almost every aspect of your life, and one of the most important changes you could make is to be in a sober environment surrounded by sober individuals.
Unfortunately, that is hard to find these days. And it isn't free. In fact, most indivduals in sober-living homes pay upwards of $400 a month, which is about the typical price of a small studio apartment here in Huntington.
Enter: my friend John. He is truly one of the most intelligent people I know. I met him in high school, more than a decade ago, and we have continued to remain friends up to this very day. John has one of the most serious heroin addictions I have ever seen. Although he spent over a year sober in 2014, he relapsed and continued using. This came to a head in December, when he overdosed and had complete organ failure, leaving him in a medically-induced coma for over a week. And of course, things didn't get better from there. Dealing with the pain from neuropathy and an injured back was too much to handle and dope was the medication of choice. He has very little family support and has burned many bridges, but is struggling again to stay clean and has hope for the future once again.
As of now, he has completed 28 days of rehab in Prestera and is now in a sober-living home here in town. He has been applying for jobs, but will not have stable income for another few weeks at best. What I fear the most is that this will be his last attempt and maybe his last opportunity to save his own life. I know that we are all still lucky to have him, but I am terrified to think about him fending for himself outside of a safe, regulated environment. If John does not have a minimum of $80 by tomorrow, he will be kicked out. I am going to go ahead and pay this, but I am worried about upcoming weeks. And yes, I will be delivering this money directly to his landlord.
GoFundMe asked me to write "why this means so much to me". I am in tears as I type this. It means a lot to me because I want to help save my friend's life. If I had the time or energy to explain the downward spiral that has been the last decade of this man's existence, you would probably be throwing money at me. I wish I could, but I cannot do this alone. Please..... anything helps.
For the past decade, I have lost several friends to heroin. Some of them lay in coffins and others walk the streets like zombies, unaware of how to change their lives for the better. To some of you, this might not make sense. If you are unfamiliar with the difficultly that surrounds recovery, then I am always willing to help paint a better picture for you. Let's just say.... it's more than "just stopping". It takes entirely changing almost every aspect of your life, and one of the most important changes you could make is to be in a sober environment surrounded by sober individuals.
Unfortunately, that is hard to find these days. And it isn't free. In fact, most indivduals in sober-living homes pay upwards of $400 a month, which is about the typical price of a small studio apartment here in Huntington.
Enter: my friend John. He is truly one of the most intelligent people I know. I met him in high school, more than a decade ago, and we have continued to remain friends up to this very day. John has one of the most serious heroin addictions I have ever seen. Although he spent over a year sober in 2014, he relapsed and continued using. This came to a head in December, when he overdosed and had complete organ failure, leaving him in a medically-induced coma for over a week. And of course, things didn't get better from there. Dealing with the pain from neuropathy and an injured back was too much to handle and dope was the medication of choice. He has very little family support and has burned many bridges, but is struggling again to stay clean and has hope for the future once again.
As of now, he has completed 28 days of rehab in Prestera and is now in a sober-living home here in town. He has been applying for jobs, but will not have stable income for another few weeks at best. What I fear the most is that this will be his last attempt and maybe his last opportunity to save his own life. I know that we are all still lucky to have him, but I am terrified to think about him fending for himself outside of a safe, regulated environment. If John does not have a minimum of $80 by tomorrow, he will be kicked out. I am going to go ahead and pay this, but I am worried about upcoming weeks. And yes, I will be delivering this money directly to his landlord.
GoFundMe asked me to write "why this means so much to me". I am in tears as I type this. It means a lot to me because I want to help save my friend's life. If I had the time or energy to explain the downward spiral that has been the last decade of this man's existence, you would probably be throwing money at me. I wish I could, but I cannot do this alone. Please..... anything helps.
Organizer and beneficiary
Emilea Suzanne
Organizer
Huntington, WV
Emilea Burgh
Beneficiary
