“I recovered as loudly as possible because I suffered, and almost died, in silence.”

When Jesse reflects on his life before recovery, he doesn’t sugarcoat it. After years of substance use, he had reached a point where everything was falling apart. He had been kicked out of his home, was using substances he had never used before, and was surrounded by people who were pulling him deeper into addiction.

In February 2023, he made the call that changed his life.

“I was at the point where I thought I’d die on the streets,” he says. “A friend helped me find treatment, and Renascent was the only name I recognized.”

What weighed on him most was the thought of his two children. At his darkest moments, Jesse found himself imagining a future with his kids standing beside his casket. It was all the motivation he needed to finally make a change.

Jesse enrolled in Renascent’s Virtual Treatment Program, and, in time, came to realize an important truth: “I wasn’t just there to stop using,” he reflects. “I started to understand I was there because I had a purpose. I wasn’t ready to die.”

The program challenged him to take an honest look at himself. For years, he had blamed other people for his circumstances, but treatment helped him recognize the role of his own decisions in his life.

And, more importantly, it showed him a different way forward.

“From the age of 12 until 28, drugs were how I coped with everything,” he shares. “I didn’t know any other way. Now I have so many different coping mechanisms.”

After completing treatment, Jesse continued with Renascent’s Continuing Care Program and stayed connected through alumni meetings. The ongoing support became an important part of building a strong foundation in recovery, and a key factor in his transition from a life that was “dark, hectic and dangerous” to one of purpose.

Nearly three and a half years into recovery, Jesse says his life is “the complete opposite” of what it was. He regularly spends time with his children, he’s attending college, and he has learned to focus only on what’s within his control.

And when challenges arise, Jesse draws inspiration from the friends he’s lost along the way.

“I sometimes wonder why I’m still here when they aren’t,” he says. “But I know they’d want me to keep going.

There’s always hope. A new perspective can change everything.”