Jesse, 57

Jesse is a hard-working man. He grew up in Chicago, has lived in Jackson, Michigan for 31 years, and is a father of three. Jesse was married nearly 20 years and worked as a truck driver before struggling with substance use disorder. At first, Jesse didn’t think he had a problem. “I was still working and managing life,” he recalls. “But it got so bad that, every time I had free time, I wanted to get high.”

Even after becoming homeless, Jesse continued using — spending thousands each week. The turning point came when he lost his job and spent his last $20 to get high. “That’s when I said, ‘Man, I’ve gotta do something. This is ridiculous.’”

Jesse has now been clean for more than six months and in and out of recovery for over a year. He says, while recovery is a daily challenge, it’s important to focus on one day at a time. “Trying to stand up again is the hardest thing in the world,” he says. “We’ve programmed our brains to do wrong for so long. But now we need to reprogram them to do right. Your brain tries to trick you into going back, but you have to want to do better.”

“I want to look at myself in the mirror one day and say that I did it. It’s coming, and it’ll be there.”

His advice for others? “Keep your head up. Try not to think too much about the past, because it’s already gone. The future isn’t here yet. Live life right now. All you can do is take little steps.”

Jesse’s goals are simple yet significant: to be happy, work again, and stand on his own two feet. He finds strength in memories like camping with his kids and taking the boat out on the lake, and believes those moments can come again. “I want to look at myself in the mirror one day and say that I did it. It’s coming, and it’ll be there.”

For Jesse, staying present is key. “Living in today is my strength,” he says. “If you can survive addiction, you can survive recovery.”