Nineteen years ago, I was living in a homeless shelter in Baltimore City. I was just beginning my recovery from a substance use disorder – heroin. Shortly thereafter, I entered The Mann House in Bel Air.
After leaving The Mann House, I rented a room in a couple’s home in Forest Hill and was pouring concrete for a living. My past told me that my prospects for the future were not promising.
One night, at an AA meeting, a local business owner offered me a sales position with his company. He had heard my story, but he too, being a member of this lifechanging program, knew that who I was in the past wasn’t who I was now.
That was sixteen years ago. Today, I have a wonderful wife, a beautiful home, numerous friends and family, and I’m still working at that same company.
Since I came onboard, the company has grown from a six-million-dollar company to a thirty-million-dollar company. I’d say the owner’s decision to hire me proved to be good all the way around. Recovery works – stop the stigma.
