Jeff Kaser

"Living in addiction was easy—no responsibility, no accountability, just a hollow existence, like my soul had checked out. My addiction was born on November 20, 1991—my 21st birthday—the same day I buried both of my sisters. After the funeral, I walked into the nearest bar and ordered a drink. I didn’t know it at the time, but I wasn’t celebrating—I was numbing the pain."

"In 2012, I moved out to West Texas and started working in the oilfield. At first, everything seemed to be falling into place—except for one thing: meth was beginning to take hold of my life. What started as occasional use quickly spiraled into daily use. I didn’t take days off. Eventually, using turned into selling, and that became my main source of income.

At first, I didn’t notice the shift. But slowly, the quality of people I surrounded myself with started to plummet. I went from having friends who worked hard, raised families, and had goals—to friends who used daily, were unemployed, boosted from local stores, or cycled in and out of jail."

"The charges started stacking up fast—felonies, misdemeanors, one after another. I went to jail twice in the same week—picked up two felonies and three misdemeanors—and deep down, I knew I wasn’t done yet. I kept riding that edge, completely out of control, until I finally decided to run from it all.

I moved back to East Texas with no license, no job, no money, and no real way to climb out of the hole I’d dug. I stayed on the run for almost three years. But it all came to a stop when I got pulled over near the house. I tried to lie my way out—one last desperate shot at holding onto my freedom—but it didn’t work. I caught another felony and a couple more misdemeanors.

Somehow, I avoided prison. The judges in both counties offered me probation—on one condition: I had to do 9 months in rehab. I took the deal without hesitation. I was eventually sent to San Angelo, Texas. I remember pulling up to the facility and thinking, ‘Wow… 9 months… here’s to new beginnings.’ And that’s where my journey to sobriety began—and I haven’t looked back since."

"I’ve always said that finding sobriety was a miracle—but the real miracle is finding the strength to maintain it every single day. Life doesn’t stop throwing challenges your way, but when you choose to start a new chapter, you face a whole different set of barriers. Even simple things—like applying for a job, renting an apartment, or getting benefits—can feel impossible with a record.

When that happens, you have to learn to be patient—and it’s okay to get frustrated. There is help out there for people with felonies; you just have to be willing to look for it.

When I got out of treatment, the first thing I did was start rebuilding my credit. Finding a job wasn’t easy, but I stuck with it. And when a better opportunity came along, I took it. I saved every nickel I earned, built up my savings, and when the time was right, I bought a vehicle—the first thing I’d done for me since getting sober.

Today, I’ve been clean for 7 years. Some of the walls I ran into early on have come down. And while life still has its challenges, I can finally say—I have a life I enjoy."