Ben moved on from The 24 in 2018 and went on to become a Volunteer Firefighter.
How did you get started with drugs and alcohol? I first got started with I was six years old. At a Jewish celebration I had my first drink. I used to get picked on a lot at school and the hamster wheel in my head was always spinning at night trying to figure out how I could not go to school. I knew that if I took a drink it would ease my mind and it would stop. My drinking progressed and I moved to drugs. I just traded one for the other.
How did you end up at the 24? I had two attempts to be here before, so I knew about the place. I laid in the hospital with kidney failure, and I knew the gig was up. I was done using and I came crawling back for a third time.
What is your greatest blessing? My greatest blessing is that I am happy, joyous and free today. I can go anywhere I want and not feel like I want to get high or loaded.
What is your greatest achievement? Becoming a volunteer firefighter is the greatest for me. With the past that I have, I wouldn’t have thought it was possible.
What is one thing you would like us to know? I have been given a lot of chances here and burned two of those chances and they welcomed me back with open arms. I wouldn’t be where I am today without The 24.
What does recovery mean to you? The world, it means helping newcomers, helping someone else see that they don’t have to use drugs anymore, they can get sober. Self-sacrifice for others.
If it weren’t for Dallas 24 Hour Club, I would still be in a hopeless state of mind and body.