Success Stories
Finding His New Focus
He was out of prison, living in a halfway house and it all started to come apart. Local law enforcement wanted to talk to him about a man who had been murdered. Eugene Shelton became stressed and started using drugs again. He called his Parole Officer (PO) and said, “I’ve got problems.” By his own admission Gene was using again, which put him in violation of his parole. Fortunately for Eugene, his PO got him into the Project Rehab’s Men’s Recovery Center. Gene saw it as a safe place away from it all, where he could focus on his life and get a new perspective. He focused on how to best fit back into the community. “While you’re in Project Rehab, they give you the information you need to turn your life around.” Gene learned that change is possible and that recovery is achievable. He says the recovery program has given him his life back. He tries to live it as fully as he can. Today he works every day he can. He goes to church, attends men’s church group, A.A. meetings, and Project Rehab’s Alumni Association meetings. The message that he has embraced as his own is, “do the next right thing.”
Shelton’s story appears in 40 Stories of Courage and Hope: Celebrating 40 Years of Project Rehab, which was published in Fall 2008 in recognition of Project Rehab’s 40th anniversary. Click here to read more stories about our courageous clients and the treatment pioneers who helped make recovery possible.
This story is sponsored by Fluis