My name is George. And I got clean at Hope for Freedom Society 24 years ago. This is my story.

I started drinking when I was 12 years old. A few years later, I joined a band and we started smoking pot. We drank a lot as well — but after a while I wouldn't get drunk when I drank. So I started using cocaine instead — it was the drug that worked for me.

I got married and had my son in my early 20s. My ex and I were only together for a year because I was deep in my addiction.

Shortly after we were separated, I was introduced to crack cocaine. I ended up selling drugs as a street level dealer — I didn't sell a lot, just enough to keep me high. But now and again I would do the drugs instead of selling them. Which isn't good for business.

With no money, I lived on the streets and would eat out of dumpsters. 

One night in Chilliwack, I got picked up by the cops in a round up with a bunch of other people. I got sentenced to nine months in jail for possession.

Back when I was selling drugs, I used to sell to this girl. I'd swing by her house to drop the drugs off. Now and again, her boyfriend would show up while I was there and he would chase me out the back door. In jail, I signed up for Narcotics Anonymous — the 12-step recovery program. The guy who came to pick me up for my first meeting was that girls' boyfriend, Neil. He looked at me and with a huge smile exclaimed, "I finally got ya!"

Neil had just started with Hope for Freedom Society and he worked hard to get me into the program. I got out of jail early on an ankle bracelet and was sent straight to HFS' Recovery Home. 

I didn't really want to be there. I wanted to stay sober but I didn't want anyone telling me what to do. At first the only thing that kept me there was the ankle bracelet. But as I got to know the other guys and started connecting with the community, the relationships are what kept me there.

At HFFS, I was able to go back to school and finish my high school diploma. I worked at Hope for Freedom for a few years, and then did a diploma at Douglas College in Child and Youth Counseling. I was able to then go to University of the Fraser Valley and get my bachelor's degree in counseling. 

Today, I'm on the Board of Directors at Hope For Freedom and I'm back in jail…but they let me out every day! Ha! I work at correctional facilities in the Fraser Valley as an addictions counselor.

I'm reconnected with my son, have another child, and have two grandchildren that I adore.

God took a broken person and molded me into who I am today. I never thought in a million years that I would be here and I've never been more grateful.