Stories of Hope and Recovery.
Jamie Varney
Volunteer Coordinator and Administrative Assistant
Peer, Ally. Sober date: April 19, 2018
I began using opiates, mainly just pills, when I was 19. I got off them by the time I was 21 and did not use again until the age of 28. During those 7 years, I built a career in banking. I became a district sales manager and opened an office in Seattle, Washington. About a year into that position I started using pills because the pressure got to me. When I was about 28 and a half, I started smoking heroin. That journey of using continued until I was about 30. From 30 to 32 I was in and out of seven different inpatient treatments. At 32 I got in trouble with the police for possession and that is what brought me to where I am now. I have been on drug court for about 2 years now, and in April I will be 2 years clean off heroin and meth.
First Step 4 Life was a place I came when I first got in drug court to help me find a job and to hang out. They helped me print my resume, it was a resource, a safe place for me to go and get advice. Tammy was extremely helpful! After I had enough time, I was able to reach out to her and she was able to offer me a job as her administrative assistant and that has evolved into a much bigger opportunity.
If it wasn’t for the center and Tammy, I would not be able to give back for what was given to me that helped me get clean.
Chris Scaroni
Veteran and Plant Operations Mechanic.
Peer, Ally. Sober date: April 17, 2019
I was first prescribed pain medication around 20 years old after I injured my back on my first tour in Iraq. A couple of years ago I went straight from taking prescription pain medication to shooting heroine overnight. My life got completely unmanageable. I lost my job, I didn’t get to see my son, my house was condemned, and there was drug trafficking in the neighborhood. I was then removed from my house and lived on the streets in Moscow where around that time I started using meth as well as heroin. I found myself living on the floor behind a couch in a one-bedroom apartment where 10 other people were living. I continued to use despite constant police contact and got a dog at large charge. Eventually, I was no longer able to maintain my ignition interlocking device at which point my license was suspended, so I was stuck with no vehicle, no house, and living in a trap house.
I was arrested on a warrant for non-sufficient funds, my mom bailed me out, and I was going to all my court hearings. When I showed up for my Veteran’s treatment court hearing, they arrested me for another warrant I had after I had been using in the court parking lot right before. At that point, I was put in jail for a month and trying to get into treatment. Before I could get into Veteran’s Treatment court, I had to take care of another misdemeanor warrant in Spokane county. They released me from jail to take care of that warrant. I overdosed in Moscow a couple of days after being released and immediately left for Spokane following the overdose to take care of the misdemeanor warrant. Once that warrant was taken care of, I came back to Lewiston for Veteran’s Treatment court. At that point there was another felony warrant out for my arrest, was arrested again, and put in jail again. I finally got into Veteran’s Treatment court. They sent me to treatment in Walla Walla to do a 90-day inpatient treatment program. Once I completed treatment in Walla Walla, I came back and started at ChangePoint and First Step 4 Life, while continuing to go to AA and NA meetings. I was able to get stable housing, and eventually got a job working at Tri-State Memorial Hospital as a plant operations mechanic. I have continued to live clean and sober to this day.
The center has helped in many ways: the volunteer opportunities, the atmosphere of the building itself is very conducive to recovery itself, the welcoming atmosphere, and it is inclusive. The center helps me feel like I belong.
Nikki Tuschoff
Waitress
Peer, Ally. Sober date: February 27, 2019
I started using Xanax and Hydrocodone at the age of 15. From there it progressed to selling for a really long time, which is when I got really addicted to Methadone. Around 22 I decided to withdrawal from the Methadone. It was horrible. I was hospitalized, and 4 months later I still wasn’t done with the withdrawals. I tried smoking meth for the first time. It wasn’t something I was really into, but it did take away my shakes, so I did that for a little while. After I shot meth the first time, it was all downhill from there. I lost my house, my car, was living on the street, sleeping on benches, under the bridge, eating food out of garbage cans, and eventually picked up a couple of felonies. I was found in a boat dock bathroom, and they thought I was dead because I fell asleep with a needle in my arm. I went to jail for about 15 days and when I got out, I absconded from probation, caught a felony for absconding, and went on a rider. I came back from the rider, was thrown out on my ass, hadn’t worked in years, I didn’t know how to survive in the real world, and I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. It only took 2 weeks before I relapsed. I ran from probation again and was running for about 7 months. During this time, my ex- boyfriend and I were pulled over and I had a bunch of needles on me, and I caught a new felony. At this point it clicked, I knew I needed to be done, I had nothing. Eventually, I got Drug Court, got out of jail, and hit the ground running and have been since.
Probation and Parole recommended I go to First Step 4 Life, and when I got there, they had a toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, shampoo, conditioner, all of that. I had access to the computer lab and I was able to get a job within the first two weeks. When I wasn’t at group I would come to the center and hang out.
Jamie is a really good friend of mine so having her there made it really easy for me to come in and feel comfortable. I didn’t realize there were so many people that I knew, but there’s just a huge community of people that will help you get into places, help you get a car, and help you get a job. It was something that I knew nothing about until I was in it. Now I’m here and I have it all.
The recovery community is key. It changed my life.
Shaun Hollace
Veteran
Recovery Coach and Peer, Ally. Sober Date: September 3, 2017
My Story is pretty simple. I started drinking and doing drugs at age 12, by the time I was 16 I was using daily. I went to prison at 19 and spent the next 15 years in and out of trouble with the law.
I first came to the center about three years ago. I was beat up, lost and in need of people to help me find my way. The center became a place of safety and hope for me. Somewhere I could come and just be. Slowly I came out of my shell and began this journey I am on now: connected to the recovery community and having a life worth living.
I owe a large part of my life now to the people and things I have learned from being at the recovery center. I truly can’t say I would be where I am today if this
center was not here for me.
Myranda Roberts
Recovery Coach in Training and Mom.
Peer, Ally. Sober Date: October 15, 2017
I started smoking marijuana and cigarettes at 13. By the time I was 15 I was using opiates and continued all the way until 22. My brother passed away in Afghanistan and I replaced opiates with meth and that’s when things really went downhill. I got my first charge right before I turned 22; I had two possession charges and I went on the run. I moved to Lewiston from Cottonwood and lived with my dad until he kicked me out. I got arrested, was transported to Payette where my grandparents bailed me out and I lived with them in Meridian for two and a half months. I moved back to Lewiston and was on probation. I was still using, kept getting probation violations, I was couch hopping, and then I was given an ultimatum by my probation officer: 30-day inpatient treatment or serve my 5-year sentence. I chose inpatient treatment, got out, enrolled in ChangePoint. I was clean for six months and doing really well. I ended up relapsing, I started using IV heavily, completely burned all bridges, my parents wanted nothing to do with me, completely homeless, didn’t have anything, in and out of jail. Got arrested in October of 2017 and sat in jail for three months. I was then accepted into Drug Court Treatment Program and I have been clean ever since. I graduate in March 2020.
I first came to the center when I was released and on Drug Court to do job search. It was a sober place to stay during the day and to help me stay clean. Tammy has helped me in all aspects of recovery. After I had my daughter I was offered a job cleaning the center, then I was offered a front desk position while I work towards becoming a Recovery Coach. The recovery community is amazing.
Brandon Morganflash
Cook
Peer, Ally. Sober date: March 8, 2019
I am from Vero Beach, Florida. I started using drugs when I was 13. I started with drinking and smoking pot. Then I moved onto the harder drugs when I was 15: cocaine, crack, pills. My drugs of choice were meth and alcohol. I lived on the streets from the age of 19 to about 22. I had twin boys and a little girl with an ex- girlfriend. My kids were taken away when they were two. I then moved to Lewiston to be with my brother and to get my life together. It helped, but I got involved with the wrong crowd and was still doing drugs. I was arrested and put on Drug Court and that is when my recovery started. I am getting my life together. I kept a job, I have my licenses, a car, and I’m living at the Oxford House. I go to meetings, I work the 12-step program, I am going to be phasing to phase 3 of Drug Court in March, I am the president of the Nez Perce Oxford House, and going to school for my GED. I enjoy life today.
First Step 4 Life has helped me with furniture, housing, sober support, and more. They have always been there for me. I have always looked up to all the staff, everyone has always been here for me. If it wasn’t for the center a lot of people wouldn’t be here today.
Scott Cavanaugh
Rotary Furnace Technician
Peer, Ally. Sober Date: March 4, 2019
I started smoking weed and drinking when I was 13. When I was 16, I had a major knee surgery and that is when I started abusing prescription pain killers. I then dropped out of school, got a job, moved in with a friend, and that is when I started using needles to shoot up pills. Then I decided to switch to meth and did that from about 18 to just before my 21st birthday. Right before my 21st birthday I was put on probation and was clean for 6 months. I stopped going to meetings and surrounding myself with people in recovery, found out my girlfriend cheated on me, and I went out and used again, starting the cycle all over again. I then started using heroin with meth, and I went on the run from probation for a few months, got caught and was sent to prison for 8 months. Got out, immediately started using again, got caught, did another 3 months. I then got on Drug Court after that. That is how I found First Step 4 Life.
First Step 4 Life is the first place I came when I got out. My home AA group meets here, I met my first sponsor here, and I was doing Recovery Coaching for a while. This place is always open whenever I need anything.
The recovery world has changed my life. Everything I could ever dream of is coming true.
Summer Gibson
Recovery Coach and Mom
Peer, Ally. Sober Date: March 28, 2019
My journey with drug addiction began in the 8th grade when I stole an ounce of pot from my mom to take to school and give to two of my friends. We moved from the Orchards to downtown Lewiston and that is when my mom started giving me pot to take to school and sell to friends; let me add, I still had not tried smoking pot, but eventually I did try it on my own. By 9th grade in the summer, I tried acid for the first time and shortly after that, I found myself smoking and snorting meth every day. By 17, I dropped out of school, got my GED, and ran away to start cooking meth and growing pot. Somehow in the mix of all this, I started smoking black tar heroin. I met a guy who was just smoking pot at the time, so he helped me detox from heroin. We then moved back to the LC Valley from Pomeroy. This guy and I ended up moving in with my sister, who had him start selling meth while I was still smoking and selling pot. I found out I was pregnant, and we moved to Spokane so that he could get clean from meth and I could quit smoking and selling pot. After my daughter was born I only smoked pot. Shortly after that, on rare occasions, we would do acid and cocaine (I wasn’t a big fan of cocaine). Next thing I knew I started doing ecstasy and cocaine on the weekends. By the time I was 23 I had 3 kids. I took my kids and left their father because he was really addicted to cocaine and drinking constantly, along with being very physically, mentally, and emotionally abusive. Now I had all three babies, I was working three jobs to survive, and next thing I know the kid’s dad took them for an overnight visit and I didn’t get the kids back until the end of 2010. I found myself cooking and doing meth again until 2008 when I moved back to the LC Valley. After moving back, I was clean until 2016 when I started using meth again. I then got 3 counts for conspiracy to deliver meth with three enhancements. Because it was my first time being in trouble, I was given five years of felony probation. I was on parole for a year and a half then moved without permission or reporting it to my parole officer, so I found myself having an agent’s warrant for absconding. I got pulled over in March 2018 on my way to the casino and was put in jail. I was in Nez Perce County jail for three months before I was granted Drug Court, which puts me where I am today. On November 19, 2019, I graduated Drug Court and began pursuing my career in being a Recovery Coach and eventually a Drug and Alcohol Counselor.
When I was first released from jail it was First Step 4 Life and Change Point that I went to. If it wasn’t for the recovery center, I wouldn’t have had a place to go and know that I was safe, sober, and free of all outside issues and temptations. I would have gone back out, but because of the recovery center I had help with community service, I was able to graduate Drug Court, I had positive things to do, I learned how to have sober friends, and they taught me sobriety and how to have fun with it. The recovery center has been a big part of my recovery and now it's going to be a part of my career. It's an amazing place.