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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Sharing His Truth: One Man’s Story of Recovery
Author(s):
Evans, Wendy Grace
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Description: After twenty years of living on the streets and forty years trapped in the downward spiral of substance use, Tyrone Taylor from Los Angeles talks about how he gives back to a community that has changed his life. “Everybody’s bottom is different. Some people have to go to jail. Some people die, but you have to hit a certain bottom before you become willing,” says Tyrone.
Content: Sharing His Truth: One Man’s Story of Recovery

“If people need something, I do what I can. Life is a precious gift and I give it all to God. I stay in prayer and meditation and my one-on-one connection with God gives me a desire to help other people,” says Tyrone Taylor.  He is a resident of the Rainbow Apartments, a supportive housing development built by the Skid Row Housing Trust in Los Angeles.   Tyrone speaks about his personal experiences in recovery at the Rainbow Apartments. There, he is a dedicated member of this unique, transformative community.

“Doing what he can” is a change, after twenty years surviving on the streets, and forty years struggling with addiction. Tyrone’s commitment to his sobriety is a testament to his own willingness and a program that works for him.

“Everybody’s bottom is different. Some people have to go to jail. Some people die, but you have to hit a certain bottom before you become willing,” says Tyrone. He became willing after his daughter flew to Los Angeles and found him living on the streets. Tyrone, who is now four years clean and sober, has found a way to make recovery a central part of his life.

“For me, I found it got me more centered and connected me to a power greater than myself. My mother was taken from me when I was four years old and I had resentment at that spiritual level for years. I crossed that invisible line and it really started to damage me. I was living on the street and recovery gave me a way out. I am really grateful for that process,” says Tyrone.

That process includes attending Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings daily, working with a sponsor, reading the AA Big Book, working the steps, daily prayer and meditation, and working with others.
 
He speaks of the desperation of life on the streets of downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row. “People on Skid Row live in a hopeless situation. You can end up down here and end up going to the grave. I lacked love, but I started seeing other people clean and sober and looked at them and said, if they can do it, so can I,” says Tyrone.
 
Tyrone describes recovery as a foundation and a network of friends. It is a new world compared to the one he used to know. He describes his work with others as an opportunity to share his truth. His truth today is that he lives a life worth living, has opportunities to be a responsible member of society, and has positive relationships with his daughters who live on the east coast. Tyrone shares strength and hope within his own family and with people in his community who are on the cusp of changing their lives.

“People come to me. I have a connection with a lot of people and they see how mangled I used to be. Now my whole manner has changed from the way I used to be. I am a sign for other people on the same streets that I used to live on.”

Click here to view a video documentary of Tyrone’s journey to recovery and to learn more about the Skid Row Housing Trust.

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File(s)
Type of Resource: HRC Resource
Organization: SAMHSA
Publication Date: 2009
Location: Rockville, MD
Phone: 617-467-6014
Steven Samra from Nashville
January 27, 2011
7:54 AM
 
Tyrone, it is an honor and a privilege to read your story and and I'm proud to call you my colleague of "We Who Have Recovered," my brother.

I know all too well the "mangling" you speak of, and I deeply understand and empathize with your "resentment at a spiritual level;" I struggled with that for decades and drowned myself in heroin and cocaine every day to ease the torment of the battle for life.

Best of luck to you on your journey and I'm looking forward to meeting you one day. Keep fighting the good fight, never surrender, and keep holding that hand out because "we've got to tell our brothers what we saw."
Peace my friend.


   
 
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