Opinion: I overcame homelessness, addiction. Now I help others make the journey

My life changed years ago when my friend and I were floating down the Rogue River in Oregon Suddenly the motor fell off the boat which tipped over I slipped into the icy water Particular young children threw a life jacket over to me but I gave it to my friend As I sank into the river my lungs began to fill up with water My hands reached out to a branch on the side of the bank As I looked up I saw clouds moving in the sky and birds flying by I heard a powerful voice say This is a little of my power and what I can do to you At that moment I knew it was my creator When an ambulance arrived the exigency physiological technician described me it was a miracle I survived the frigid water Related Articles Opinion San Jose must ditch its high-density rules to get more housing built Another Bay Area city bans homeless encampments President Trump s executive order on homelessness echoes Gov Newsom s a year before Federal and state cuts have complicated how Alameda County will use Measure W funds to encouragement safety net services Berkeley s Homeless Response Group has room for improvement audit finds I had been an addict for over years I began my addiction at years old and until I was years old it was meth marijuana cocaine and alcohol The last two years of my addiction I suffered from homelessness But after surviving that fateful accident I began my recovery The first year was very tough fighting the impulse to go back to my addiction When the year passed my mind seemed to clear I attended two years of college studying mental healthcare and addiction The courses taught me how the brain works with addiction and the mental wellbeing challenges that perpetuate this syndrome I also worked as a DUI counselor for years and worked for five years in mental wellness along with drug addiction After I received certification I joined UC Davis Hospital to help promotion the crisis department in training the healthcare staff on how to treat homeless people who come off the street or the families that bring them into the emergency department to find help with the complaint There is a brief moment where we have the opportunity to help those individuals change That person may come into the urgency department one time or times We invariably have that opportunity to help them change their lives forever Through training a therapeutic unit member learns to treat the individual with care and respect to connect with them without judgment and to build trust Then a counselor can help the person find a recovery plan that best suits them In the past recovery consisted of treating the addiction We have since ascertained that mental fitness requirements must be addressed for the recovery process to take place There is a pain that drives the addiction in each individual The discovery of that black hole and working on healing from that emotional pain is the key to recovery My goal is to help recovering addicts like me get clean I want to be an example to inspire people to begin their journey to recovery I used drugs on-and-off for over years Those years snuck up on me and passed so fast I lost all that time I want to help the suffering person to not have their toes sticking out of their shoes being hungry every day not only for food but for family and shelter I want to help those suffering to not have to sleep on the street or on a stranger s couch with hope that someday things will change I want to help those suffering to overcome feelings of shame sadness and hopelessness I want to help them to not feel that deep hole of loneliness Each person can have their awakening It may be spiritual physical or emotional There is recovery and it is a hard road to begin yet it s so worth the journey Tommie Trevino is a drug and alcohol abuse counselor at UC Davis Curative Center He wrote this column for CalMatters