My name is Thomas and I have the disease of addiction.  I know I suffer from the disease of addiction because it didn’t matter how I was living, homeless, unemployable, beat down, hungry, depressed and terrified that I may not live through my next use to see my two year old son or my mother again.  With addiction none of this mattered – all that mattered at the time of my active addiction was that next one; that next fix. 

My names Rochelle and I'm an alcoholic. My sobriety date is June 17th of 2017, and every time I say that, even almost five years later, it still blows my mind. I was the alcoholic and drug addict that everyone lost hope in. The alcoholic that went to jail over and over again, treatment centers over and over again, and gave everyone around me every reason to hate me. Today, I can't think of a single person that I truly hurt who hasn't forgiven me, or isn't back in my life.

My name is Nicole and I am an alcoholic. Thank God today I not only know that, but I feel it deep in my soul, because there is a solution for my problem. I was first introduced to AA when I was 22 years old and today I’m 32 with 1 beautiful year of sobriety. It’s been the most challenging but rewarding year of my life because today I have serenity that I am absolutely not willing to give up for any drink or drug.

My name is Ryan and I'm an alcoholic. I know that because I tried everything to stop drinking and couldn't. I couldn't drink in moderation, switching brands did nothing, and my will power was not enough to stop. I lied, cheated, stole and manipulated everyone around me to get what I wanted. 

Hello, my name is Erica, and I'm an alcoholic. I am also an alum and resident at the Jean Marie House with 14 months of sobriety. I’m still flighty and easily distracted, so I will work diligently at keeping this short and on topic, lol. I grew up in Cleveland on 89th between Cedar & Quincy Ave.

Hi, my name is Barb, and I am a 58-year-old recovering alcoholic. As a child I was surrounded by the crazy world of alcoholism. Not my nuclear family, but pretty much the rest of my outside family including grandparents. As a child I was shielded the best my parents could, but it was still there.

My name is Maggie and I am an alcoholic. My sobriety date is October 30th 2017. I was born and raised on the west side of Cleveland with my Mom, Dad, and an identical twin sister. For years I thought I had a "normal" childhood. It wasn't until the age of about 15 or 16 I started to realize I did not.