Recipe to Life
She began the decline on the road of alcoholism, unable to continue any attempt at sobriety for more than a couple of years. Her husband at the time often enabled her addiction. She was repeatedly arrested from her home after becoming aggressive while inebriated. In one instance prior to receiving a sentence, Harris stood before a judge who captured the severity of her addiction. “The judge held up a stack of papers that listed how many times I’d been arrested for
-Ozetta Harris “I want them to see they always have a way out.”
In 2015, Harris received her counseling license. “In 2018, I went to UMADAOP again, not from a mandate or requirement for community service, but as a productive citizen.They asked me to come back because I have a story and something I can offer others going through what I did.” Harris often returns to the neighborhoods and shelters she frequented during her years of addiction to share her story and hopes to inspire those currently dealing with addiction. “I always want to do this for people like me,” she said. “This is the reason I do what I do.” As she continues counseling, Harris is also producing a Youtube series called “The O-Zone.”The show will host people who are well into their years of sobriety and give them a platform to talk about their successes and experiences with recovery programs. “When I’m helping people, it helps me. I want them to see they always have a way out. I want those sharing in this experience to also realize that and pass it to anyone watching.” Harris’s vision for the show began in April 2020. Her journey through addiction and story of triumphs will be featured as one of the episodes. disorderly conduct,” Harris said. “I stood before that judge a broken woman, like a car wreck. She told me I wasn’t only dealing with alcohol abuse, but also a mental disorder. She told me that when I got out, I’d go to treatment. And that’s what did it for me.” After serving her time in jail, Harris spent a couple of months in treatment and was then assigned a sponsor to assist her through the later stages of recovery. Her community service requirement gave her the opportunity to work at Cleveland UMADAOP cleaning the facility. She soon received close mentorship from one of the program’s employees who later relieved Harris of her cleaning duties. She told Harris to, instead, spend the remainder of her service hours watching recordings of the organization’s group sessions. “I got used to coming in, watching those tapes, and hearing different people’s stories. But my life changed one day when I sat down to watch the next tape and I heard someone telling my story. I saw a woman who seemed hopeless like me speaking on how she overcame her struggle. It’s like she gave me the recipe to change my life.”This marked the start of Harris’s journey to recovery. She now vividly recalls having her last experience with alcohol in 2006 and has continued her walk of sobriety since. The O-Zone
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online