When Jesse thinks back to his childhood, he remembers two things: Not having much structure allowing him to get into trouble, and a strong, single mother who did the best she could raising two kids on a small income.

"My mom did the best she could considering the circumstances," said Jesse. "There is not a time I remember when there was not food on the table. She hauled me and my older brother to church every Sunday and Wednesday. Though I resented it then, I am thankful for it now because it gave me my core belief system."

Despite his mom's positive example, Jesse acted out and was using drugs nearly every day by the time he was 17 years old. He started abusing drugs in high school and recalls a connection between his drug use and a knee injury that ended his hopes of being noticed by football scouts.

"I'd wake up in the morning to get high and sleep every couple of days so I could get high … It started as something to do at parties, to forget, to party longer, harder, and more frequently."

Eventually, Jesse dropped out of school but he went on to earn his G.E.D. through a program for high school dropouts. From there, his life looked like it was back on track.

"After the program I obtained employment and started living on my own at the age of 17," said Jesse. "I had a girlfriend, a good circle of friends, and my own apartment (no roommates). Everything a person would need to be happy, but not enough for me."

He continued to do drugs and cycled through opportunities, losing girlfriends, jobs, and apartments many times over. As Jesse put it:

"From that point to this point in my life I have been through ten girlfriends, eight jobs … nine apartments and three halfway houses. None of this I am proud of. It's just to paint a more vivid picture.

Crystal Meth was ruining my life but yet I still would not let it go. Near the end I could not get an apartment. I was blackballed because of the constant parties and the drug use. I wound up living in motels and started stealing cars for the radios and the wheels. I also got involved with multiple fraudulent schemes to pay for my motel rooms and to support my habit. This went against my belief system, but my paranoid mind told me I needed to survive and to survive was to get high.

Finally I truly wanted to get sober. It took my family not wanting me around for Christmas to get my attention. This really hurt me because I love my family, but yet at the same time it was allowing me to see the pain I was putting them through. Not only were my dreams of going to college and making something out of myself, as well as having a wife and kids, dying but my family was slipping away from me. I remembered a halfway house that my aunt had found for me a while back that I went to just to get her off my back. I remembered the program and how they were willing to help me help myself. So I wound up visiting Brenda at HomeBase Youth Services. She was glad to hear from me and helped me find a rehab program.

I took care of my legal problems first and turned myself in on an outstanding warrant. I did two and a half months at the Estrella tents. After getting out, I signed myself into the 30 day inpatient rehab program HomeBase had found for me. Those 30 days turned out to be the most enlightening experience I have ever had. I learned so much about myself that I never knew. HomeBase has helped me find the support to obtain and maintain sobriety.

My life has changed from foggy to clear. I am thinking a lot more positively and am not super paranoid. I have always been a people person. I love people but now in sobriety I have been able to maintain relationships. My outlook for the future is very positive. I am looking for a challenging career involving people. I am constantly looking for ways to improve myself every day.

I now have three months of sobriety and play an active role in my family's lives. I participate in HomeBase's Transitional Living Program at the Nicholas Center. I have obtained many tools I need to succeed in life and am finding the others that are still missing. I see nothing but good things coming and remain faithful for the future."