Jason
“I hope people see the beauty in the photos. I hope they see the positivity in them, and maybe be inspired by them. Change can always come, but it doesn't come easy.”
Click each photo or scroll down to read Jason’s story
"Do not enter." Basically telling me that I'm not allowed to do something. My children and I were laughing about how we were breaking the rules. Living and fixing, right? We see the "living" too, because we're actually living now. Because I’m an addict, I take that drive that I was using to get drugs and I now use it to better myself. It’s a transferable skill. Everybody has it within them.
I love Maple Ridge Community Corrections and all the people in it. I managed to not only get through the shit hole of corrections, I turned it into a huge resource to rebuilding my life. My probation officer is a huge part of my recovery and my support system. She connected me to the John Howard Society, and of course that changed my life. I am very grateful to be on the other side of the fence as a peer support worker. I set precedents, going from being a client to now a colleague with corrections.
This both a negative and a positive picture. I went to jail in this courthouse but I also got my children back in this courthouse. I was in a negative mindset when I was breaking the law in my active addiction days and even probably six months into my recovery. But through the program and connecting to services, I was able to look at the world through a different set of eyes. So the world didn't change, the way I looked at it did. And the more positive I am in life, the more positive life becomes.
The possibilities are endless, the sky is not the limit. Remembering where I was to where I am now, there's a big difference. I was hiding in a ditch from a police officer, talking to my son on the phone when I wasn’t supposed to. I heard the sadness in his voice because Dad's going back to jail, defeated by drugs again. The best help for any addict is talking to a peer because we're connected through pain. When you see somebody that was in hell and has pulled themselves out, you can see that it's possible to get the life that you deserve.
My daughter told me once that the two people she loved the most were ripped apart from each other because she made that call to 911. She held the shame and the guilt from that. We weren't allowed to see or talk to each other for 18 months. My son, my daughter, and myself call them the “Ministry of Children and Family Destruction.” They offer programs, but they don't direct you to what you need to do. So they were great to have as a resource, but they were a huge barrier. We overcame all of the obstacles that the Ministry of Children put into our life. I am grateful for the connection I have with my children today and I'm grateful for the process to know where I never want to be again.
This is my handsome son. That was the beginning of us getting reconnected and I was just really happy to see him. I remember sitting there in early recovery in the treatment center, just dreaming of the opportunity to have days like this. So I wanted to remember that day and the time I got to spend with my son. Now, of course, we see each other all the time. That was a really fun day.
This picture is a lot of happiness and not just because it's a beautiful car and I'm a car guy, but my daughter is there and she really loves old vehicles. Both my son and my daughter love old vehicles so that always creates great conversation. Of course, it's at Starbucks. We go there every week. But I'm not a big Starbucks fan because it costs a lot of money!