Going to the Bridge was the hardest decision to make. It was also the best decision.
I used to have a career as a manager in the port of Los Angeles, and I lost that. I was at this point in my life where I changed into this person I didn’t recognize – I used to fire people for drinking or being high while working, but then I became that person. I worked my way through drugs, like LSD, cocaine, and back then, speed. The biggest ones were meth. Meth and alcohol, as drinking used to always made me want more meth.
Before going into the program, I tried everything on my own. I tried to go to AA meetings, but it just didn’t work. Neither did the Kaiser out-patient program. At this point, I got a second divorce. I got thrown into jail. Life just kicked me enough. After four years of trying and trying, and when I lost everything –every possession I owned, and worst of all, my family – that’s when I made a call. Once I was there, it was pretty simple. I made up my mind to change, and the Bridge gave me the support.
I connected to the people here. Before, I couldn’t see myself living with a group of strangers for a year, but having to rely on the Bridge, and later on, my roommates, really helped. You have a group of people at the Bridge, that you’re close with, that they’re going through the same thing, from different backgrounds. Being in a place that fosters this sense of family, that’s what I found some security in that.
It works. It worked for me. . . accepting help and realizing you’re not alone. To help yourself. If you follow their plan, it will work. If you want to change – it will work for you.