[vc_single_image source=”featured_image” img_size=”full”]Find a place to sleep: a bench, the beach, an alleyway, a rooftop, anywhere. Wake up, try to get high. If you’re out of drugs, rob someone. Take the money and get more drugs. Rinse and repeat. Such was Logan C.’s brutal routine for the better part of a decade.
It was a vast departure from his affluent upbringing in Newport Beach, California.
Logan and his twin brother, now 30, were adopted at birth. Their home life was ideal, but as the only two black kids in their school, they suffered bigotry and racism on a daily basis. “We were called the n-word a lot, we were beaten up, sticks and rocks were thrown at us. It was really bad outside of the home,” he says. Not surprisingly, Logan and his brother sought escape from the torment. They started ditching school.
Truancy escalated into vandalism, burglary, graffiti and arson. “I was mad at myself for not standing up to racism, so I took my anger out on property,” Logan explains. “By sophomore year, I was heavily into drugs: cough syrup, muscle relaxers, weed and cocaine,” he says.
Logan’s drug use had two major effects. First, it hampered his ability to play soccer, a sport in which he excelled and for which he was being offered scholarships from colleges; and second, it made him popular among his fellow users. For the first time, Logan was accepted and not judged on his skin color. “Sure, they just wanted my drugs, but I had ‘friends’ for the first time. The lifestyle of drugs and rebellion became addictive,” he says.
Soon, that lifestyle got the better of him. He kept getting arrested for cocaine possession, burglary, DUI and assault. When he was 19, Logan went to prison for nine months, which only intensified his rage against the world. “I dealt with more racism and had to fight a lot. I experienced hunger for the first time. But I also learned a lot about selling drugs and robbing people.” After jail, Logan got into meth and heroin. Within a few months, he was homeless.
Logan lived on the streets of LA for the better part of a decade. “It was fun at first, but it got old really quickly,” he says. During his time on the streets and in and out of 30-day rehabs, Logan realized that the life he was living was not what he wanted anymore. “I would see these families at the beach, playing, laughing, eating… just being happy. I wanted that. I didn’t want to use drugs anymore, I didn’t want to steal. I wanted a normal life,” he explains.
Logan started reaching out. No one would take him since he had no money. He called 25 treatment centers before he got in touch with Beit T’Shuvah. “They told me to come in for an interview. I hadn’t showered in weeks. After the interview, Zac Jones asked me if I could make it another week on the streets before a bed opened up. I told him no; I’d be dead or in jail. He told me to wait in the lobby, and 10 minutes later, they told me I was a resident,” he recalls.
Logan seemed to flourish at Beit T’Shuvah as he made friends and started playing soccer again. Two months ago, though, he relapsed. “I wasn’t being honest with my treatment team. I still hadn’t dealt with my childhood traumas, and they were starting to overwhelm me. I didn’t want to open up about it. I was afraid of being judged. A few things triggered me, and before I knew it, I was in a motel scoring heroin. It felt great for the first hour, and then I got really sick. I came back and fessed up right away.”
Beit T’Shuvah gave Logan a second chance and encouraged him to be honest and open about his struggles. Logan finally got a sponsor and is now working the 12 Steps. “This community is amazing. They really want to help and I’ve been able to connect and make a lot of friends. And the marathon training has been really great. Without the support of Beit T’Shuvah, I’d be dead or in prison. The support we get from the marathon team helps the people like me who were homeless and drug-addicted and gives us a second chance.”
Come support Logan and the rest of our Beit T’Shuvah Running4Recovery team this Sunday at the LA marathon. To sponsor our team or an individual runner, go to: https://www.firstgiving.com/event/beittshuvah/2019-Beit-T-Shuvah-Running4Recovery-Marathon-Team
The LA Marathon is only 1 week away and our team has been working hard to train for the race! To sponsor our team or an individual runner, go to: https://www.firstgiving.com/event/beittshuvah/2019-Beit-T-Shuvah-Running4Recovery-Marathon-Team
Help our team cross the finish line!
