Josh's Handicap Accessibility Fund

Hello world! So first of all I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has followed my story, shared it with friends and donated to help me have accessible structured sober living for the first 9 months of my journey in recovery!

Between online and personal check donations we were able to raise over $26,000! That number is astonishing to me.  The fact that you all cared enough about me to invest in my future is both empowering and humbling. Although I did not get to stay in sober housing the full year that I intended, I did get enough recovery under my belt to succeed in the next steps of my life. When my funding ran out I was able to move into an apartment in downtown St. Paul with two sober roommates. I believe this happened in God's perfect timing as we are like brothers who support each other in remarkable ways.

I set the campaign goal at $50,000 because I knew that it would take roughly $32,000 to pay off my residential inpatient balance and remain at Hazelden's half-way house to reach a total of 12 months in structured sober living. It was recommended to me to be in an environment like that for a year so that I would have plenty of accountibility and support around me at all times. 

I also wanted to make sure that a situation like this never happened again. It shouldn't happen anywhere, much less the most well known recovery community in our country. So I wanted to raise an additional 18,000 to find partnershiips to invest in renovating a local sober house to be handicap accessible. The exact amount of money it would take to build a ramp and widen some doors would depend on each specific situation but $18,000 felt like a great start. It would be enough to get things moving at least. That way if the next person who had a disability would be able to pay a standard sober house rent of $600-$800 per month instead of the $3,000-$4000 range that we were stuck with.

You guys saved me! If not for your generousity I would not be here today. It would be easy to stop now that I have moved forward and just pass this problem along to the next disabled addict but I just can't...I won't.

What would have happened if I were not me? What would have happened if I were not blessed with the ability to articulate myself, the connections to media outlets and a vast network of support? What if I could not take up for myself? Would the powers that be have stepped up and done something about this? I don't know for sure but from my experience dealing with the system I highly doubt it.

My best guess is that I would have been sent back to North Carolina long before I was ready. Then, if I relapsed, would have either died or come back for another round of treatment only to be left with the same problem in the end. That sickens me to think about. I have lost enough friends to addiction to know that it is not about being weak or strong. I beleive that a person's success in recovery is not only a matter of willingness but opportunity. I know plenty of addicts who will most likely never see the inside of a treatment center, talk to a counselor or be properly detoxed simply because they do not have insurance. They may stumble in and out of 12 step meetings if they are lucky enough to even know about them but their chances of recovery are slim. The odds are against all of us. We don't need any more barriers. We need opportunity! All of us! While I can't fix the larger societal problem with how we treat addicts(at least I can't yet lol) I can use my voice to make this one thing right in the one place where it should be right. Minnesota, the land of 10,000 treatment centers, should have affordable handicap accessible sober living. Period. 

So now I am asking all of you for your help again. But this time I don't want you to make personal donations for this cause. I want you to think big. Between all of us, collectively, we must know someone with a big platform, a big pocket and/or a big heart. Help me find that person or those people who can help us reach the $18,000 or possible even more to get this project up and running! Who can we talk to to make this happen?

There is an opportunity to spread the word about this cause and use my platform for change. The incredible truth is that I am getting a car donated to me this Thursday, Febuary 15 at 5:00pm 2905 Lexington Ave S, Eagan MN 55122.  I have been given so much but I can not recieve these gifts with a clear head unless I continue to fight for the next person. I invite anyone who can attend to please come! It is about so much more than just me gettinga vehicle. We all are in this together and can share a message of hope to the world.