My name is Sean, I am from Louisville, KY.  I started using drugs when I was 13.  Over the course of the next 8 years, I ended up in places that I never thought I would go.  I started using more serious drugs and had to break the law to get more drugs.  I thought this was the only way.  As a result, I ended up in and out of jail since I was 17.  I also became homeless at the age of 20.  I wanted to stop but I just couldn’t.  I went to many treatment centers but I could still not stop using drugs.

I knew I had to change when I woke up in a hospital after an overdose; fear and pain finally made me willing to try something different.  I decided to go to a treatment center in Nashville, TN.  After the 28 day treatment program, I wasn’t ready to move back home.  I needed more structure and support.

I didn’t want to use drugs anymore, so I decided to continue my recovery at R&R Transitional Housing.  I always thought of a half-way house as a place people were sent when they were released from prison.  I soon found out that R&R Transitional Housing was totally different than my conception of a halfway house.  It gave me the support I needed to stay clean and recover from my addiction.  I don’t know where I would be if I hadn’t made the decision to go there.  Life is great today.  I can honestly say I have lost the desire to use drugs. 

I’ve been with R&R since the very first day they open their doors as a transitional housing program. Over this time, I’ve seen many men come and complete our program. I have seen R&R Transitional Housing have a lifelong impact on many men. By giving these men a structured living environment, a strong introduction to recovery and a 12 step fellowship, R&R has assisted many men sustain freedom from alcohol and drugs.  The clients of R&R truly transform themselves into acceptable, responsible, and productive members of society.             

On a more personal note, R&R gave me a home and put a roof over my head at a time in my life when I couldn’t provide for myself. When I had about two years clean from alcohol and drugs, I was forced to deal with treatment of the Hepitus C virus. The treatment for the virus was one the most difficult times in my life. The treatment was very difficult due to the various side effects of the medication I was taking. I wasn’t able to work, my savings were spent, and I lost my place to live. R&R give me a place to live and a job when I needed one the most. 

And for this act of kindness I will be eternally grateful. I have come to love Ryan Chapman and Ryan Hunt as I do my own family.

Hello my name is James Saunders and I am an alumnus of R&R transitional living. My whole life I tried everything my own way to use drugs successfully or stop using for short periods of time. Whenever I did things my way I ended up in treatment, jail, unemployed and kicked out of school. I was on absolutely hopeless.

The first time I went to treatment I didn’t listen to any suggestions. I soon relapsed and found myself on the brink of death. I checked into Cumberland Heights two years later. This time around I was so broken I was willing to do anything to stay clean. My counselors suggested taking it one day at a time, go to meetings, and get a sponsor (and use that sponsor), work steps and most of all don’t go back to people, places and things.

My counselor asked me what I was going to do after I got out of treatment I said “I am going back home to my family.” He laughed and I found myself really angry at that response. He told me it was stupid if I thought I was going to go home and be able to stay clean.

Ryan Hunt came to speak one night while I was in treatment and he talked about his experience with a halfway house. I started to think that transitional living might be the best option for me. So when I got out of treatment I went to R&R more nervous and excited than I had been since I could remember. The first night I felt like I was in the safest place I had been in the long time.

R and R showed me how to grow up, be a man and do what it takes to stay clean. I never had a real job in my whole life. I never had to clean up after myself. R&R showed me how to get a real job and keep that job. R&R also showed me how good it felt to clean up after myself and take care of myself. Since I was a child I had never had true friendships where I could be accepted and loved for who I was. I found these friendships at R and R.  

People do make it thought early recovery without going to a halfway house or treatment but I was never able to. Had I never gone to R and R, I would have never made it. I would have ended up going home using right away and be right back to where I started. Early recovery is such a rocky road and I so happy I was living with other men going though the same thing so we could help each other through it. I don’t know about you but one of my biggest fears my whole life was being alone and not once did I ever feel alone or neglected in that house. Not only did R&R save my life but it showed me how to live it.