DALLAS — Sometimes the hardest person to love is ourselves.
“I was bottomed out. I had to look up just to see the bottom,” said Kevin Jackson, a Dallas resident.
In 2012, Jackson was released from prison after serving a 10-year robbery sentence. Though free, he said he was still behind bars mentally.
“Once I started using the drugs, the drugs started using me,” said Jackson. “I wanted to live, and I wanted to die. And I didn’t know how to do either one.”
He found himself at APAA, the Association of Persons Affected by Addiction, which is based in South Dallas.
Jackson is now clean.
“Twenty months, one week, and one day. Though I don’t count the days, I make the days count,” said Jackson.
“People don’t see recovery out loud,” said Joe Powell, APAA President and CEO. He is also the group’s founder and has been clean since 1988.
“Not only is it possible, but recovery is a reality for all of us,” said Powell.
All APAA staff have experienced addiction or mental health challenges. Powell said it helps them to provide resources, outreach, and better connect with those they serve.
“We know what being broken is about or having an addiction, but we also have years of lived experience with recovery and wellness,” said Jackson. “It’s all about that relationship, building that relationship and trusting that relationship.”
It's a trust Jackson now has in himself.
“We say in recovery that we’ll love you until you’re able to love yourself. That rings true here. We embrace that. We live that. That’s a part of who we are. That’s APAA.” They are restoring self-love through recovery," said Jackson.