My name is Harrison; I am twenty-three years old from Boston, MA. I have been on the road to recovery since July 26, 2010. Over this period of time I have been through a handful of treatment centers, now I am receiving treatment at Gatehouse Academy. I have been here at Gatehouse roughly six months.

Every weekday morning the residents at Gatehouse Academy wake-up at 5:30AM to perform household chores and head off to “work ethic.” Work ethic is a form of service work which is held on and off campus. The residents are placed into different work crews, such as cleaning crews, landscaping crews, maintenance crews, horse crews and there are two residents who check the cleanliness of each residential house.

After months of being on different crews, such as landscaping and horses, I am now a member of the maintenance crew. We repair damage done to the campus in all of the housing areas and different offices and buildings. I enjoy doing this type of work. I am a certified automotive technician and I absolutely love to work with my hands and really be able to see the end result. I take a lot of pride in my work.

Before my using career began all I would do in my spare time is tinker with tools and make things out of wood. I was absolutely obsessed with my tool collection and putting it to full use. I had many dreams of what I would like to do in life. Soon after I began using and completely forgot about what I am really compassionate about and stopped caring. I used drugs and alcohol to get out of my head. The substances made me feel so great and excited, I felt no emotions. Now after having about six months clean and sober I face different emotions everyday. Usually I do not like feelings and emotions but I am learning different ways to find a solution for these feelings.

Being on the maintenance crew at Gatehouse is a great way for me to meditate and really get out of my head in the morning. It is a nice quiet time for me to work with tools, find solutions and serve others. That excitement I felt when woodworking in my parents’ garage when I was much younger has come back. Returning to my passion has at times helped me fill that void I sometimes feel missing from substances.

Recently at Gatehouse I have been struggling very hard. I was the foreman of maintenance crew and had been asked to step down because of my actions. Typically I would be extremely offended by this and become very resentful. By living in the solution, meeting with my sponsor regularly and living in integrity I was able to find my own part in this situation and respect the concern from my peers.