SCOTT COUNTY, Tenn. — Randall Byrge went from being ashamed to return home to a pillar in the recovery community.
"November 11, 2012, is where I start my sober date at. That ain't the first time that I went without drugs, that's the first time I went without wanting to do drugs," Byrge said.
Byrge struggled with drug addiction but has since turned his life around. He works with the STAND coalition and shares his story, hoping to teach others about his mistakes.
"We're just loud about everything that we do and hope that people out there still struggling can see that it is possible, that we do recover," Byrge said.
"Drug addicts ain't trash. They're people that made a mistake. I made a mistake. And that mistake took 12 years of my life for me," Byrge said.
For Byrge to spend Thanksgiving at the house he was once not welcomed in, he says, is a testament to the way his parents raised him.
"It's what I've always dreamed to be. It's what my daddy taught me to be, it's what my mommy taught me to be—a good man. And I'm not there yet. But I'm trying every day and hopefully one day I can be half of what they are," Byrge said.
As he continues to speak publicly about his experience, he hopes he can inspire others to seek recovery.
"I stand on my own two feet today, not for anybody else but for my family. I don't have to be ashamed of who I am anymore and you can do the same thing if I can do it," Byrge said.
