Proud Voices

This week's guest Joey heard about Pride Institute through a support meeting at the age of 16. He first started using at 10 years old. One thing that is immediately apparent when hearing Joey's story is the optimism he's gained from his sobriety. Joey has been sober since June 2, 2021. 

This week's guest, Jacob, had gone to AA meetings for years prior to attending treatment for the first time. He came to Pride after his family did an intervention with him on what he thought was his uncle's funeral. Jacob got sober on January 18, 2022. 

Terry has been to Pride four times. The first time was after he graduated from college in the 90s when meth was still kind of new to the queer community. As the years went by he saw the drug begin to consume the community, his friends, and even himself. Terry speaks about career loss, financial devastation, homelessness, and how he was able to survive through sobriety. Terry has been sober since August 8th, 2021.  

This week’s guest, Pinki, came to Pride from Seattle, Washington. A Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LADC) by background, Pinki was working as a Case Manager when he had a six month relapse during the pandemic. Pinki also struggles with Bi-polar disorder and talks at length about the co-occurring disorders and poly-use as a means of self medication. Pink has been sober since May 24, 2021.

This week’s guest, Mal, has battled with both substance use addiction, as well as an eating disorder. Her eating disorder started at the age of 14, and she had her first drink at 16. The two went hand-in-hand starting around the age of 16 until eventually, she sought treatment 12 years later. Mal has been sober since January 26, 2016.

Jay first started using meth when he was 38 years and heard about Pride from someone he was using with at the time. Having spent several years working in the entertainment theatre scene, he describes his drug use as being one of the few things he could use to silence the noise that surrounded him. He has been sober since April 1, 2019.

This week's guest, Eddie has been to 55 treatment centers. Previously, Eddie worked as a teacher and basketball coach for a catholic school in Maryland  where he was named teacher of the year. He describes his relationship with drugs as a solution to a problem he couldn't find. Eddie has been sober since May 22, 2021. 

This week's guest, Jim, is the CEO of one of the country's top addiction treatment centers. Jim grew up in New York and came out as "gay" in 1981 at the age of 15. A survivor of childhood sexual assault, Jim began using at a very early age and first came to Pride in 1996. Through humor, humility, and community service, Jim has captured 23 years of sobriety. He got sober on February 5th, 1999. 

This week's guest, Beck Gee-Cohen is the Director of LGBTQIA+ Programming at Visions Teen in Malibu, California. Beck is a master's level clinician and has worked in the mental health and substance use field for over ten years in various capacities (including supervisor of Pride Institute's Intensive Outpatient Program.) He talks about the unique challenges queer adolescents face today and how awesome Gen-Z is. 

This week’s guest, Patrick, didn’t have his first drink until he was 21 and went through seven treatments (two of which were at Pride) before he got sober. He considers himself a "black-out drinker" and was recently diagnosed with Asperger’s, a form of Autism Spectrum Disorder, and talks about the relief he felt post-diagnosis and how it may have contributed to his substance use. Patrick is just shy of seven years sober. 

This week's guest, Marc, talks about the paranoia of addiction, the stigma and shame of experiencing homelessness, and addiction's toll on loved ones. A professional truck driver, Marc, talks about the primarily male-dominated, heteronormative standards he has to live up to in his profession and has to hide from most of the time. Mark has been sober since November 28, 2020.