Real Stories. Real Recovery.

“I can live with my inadequacies and I can live with my addiction and I can live with everything that ails me in my life and still come out of it a good person”.

Meet Sam, a 18-year-old finding connection and purpose.

“I’m a drug addict. Addict, alcoholic, whatever you want to call it, and I have 13 months sober.”

Before finding Full Circle, Sam had been to multiple treatment programs and didn’t know what life would look like sober.

 “I felt scared, lost, and tired.” His parents used to worry where he was or who he was with, and the friends he had then weren’t the greatest.

Amber (Sam’s mom): “Even safe at home, they aren’t really safe. That was the hardest part to come to terms with.”

As things became more difficult for the family, Sam’s parents searched for support and guidance. That’s when his counselor suggested they check out Full Circle, and they brought him to try a meeting.

“I think I fell in love with it pretty quickly, even if I didn’t get it right away. It has made my life and my recovery actually something enjoyable. When I was still in active addiction, I would dread getting sober because I thought, ‘I’m just going to be bored all day.’ This gives me something to look forward to. I can always hang out with someone. I can always go to a function, go to a meeting, and just have a blast.”

Amber (Sam’s mom): “He started to change and grow and get healthy in front of our eyes. The way the counselors embraced Sam and the kids embraced Sam, it changed everything.”

That was in November of 2023, and almost two years later, Sam still finds himself deeply connected to the program.

“When I came into the program and started making friends, I realized that some of these people are going to be my lifelong friends. Now I’m part of something larger than myself. It is a community that I can always fall back on. There’s no set hours for this. I can call someone whenever I need or have someone call me whenever they need. These people will always be there for me when I need them, and they’ve proven that time and time again.

“I’ve learned to live a life sober that I actually enjoy, and my parents can actually enjoy my company and not have to worry about any of those things that they used to stress about.”

Michael (Sam’s dad): “At first, I think he felt forced to be part of the group. It took him time to feel safe enough to show vulnerability. But once he did and found out these kids would love him because of that vulnerability, when he decided to get sober, he was all in.”

Sam began to rebuild himself and his relationships.

“My bond with my parents has never been stronger than today. I have something to look forward to every week, and the same thing with my parents. They look forward to coming to meetings and supporting however they can. It’s really made us stronger.”

Amber (Sam’s mom): “We were not alone anymore. Full Circle helped us learn how to support him, but they also supported us. The parent group taught us to keep our side of the street clean, so we can be available and supportive when they need our help. Being in a room with people who understand what you’ve been through is game-changing.”

Michael (Sam’s dad): “We go to meetings sometimes twice a week. It builds your toolbox of coping skills. Now when bad news happens, we have trust in the system that we’ve been taught, our own 12-step programs, our own sponsors who help us work through it instead of going to pieces like we used to. The peace of mind is incredible.”

When their older son later faced his own struggles with addiction, the family leaned on everything they’d learned through Full Circle.

Amber (Sam’s mom): “When our older son came home from college, we realized he also had an addiction problem. Starting over again, we had tools in our toolbox and Full Circle on speed dial. It was totally different the second time.”

Through his recovery, Sam began to understand himself and what it means to live with honesty and acceptance.

“When I first came in, I was convinced that I was a sociopath and a really horrible person. I thought that I could never receive love or do anything with my life. And as I’ve progressed and as I’ve gained some more time sober and as I’ve gone through the steps, I’ve realized that’s entirely not the case.

“I can live with my inadequacies and I can live with my addiction and I can live with everything that ails me in my life and still come out of it a good person. Someone good, kind to others, selfless, and someone who participates in society.”

“I could not have gotten sober without the people here. I could not be the man that I am today without some of my friends that I met in Full Circle.”

Together, the Walter family is finding strength and healing, not just through Sam’s recovery, but by walking the journey side by side.

Michael (Sam’s dad): “My ability to cope with bad news has probably increased twentyfold. When you have a kid in addiction, you live in emotional crisis almost constantly. Now we don’t have that.”

“We’ve never cried more than we did two years ago, and now we go to bed every night knowing our child is happy, healthy, and loved.”