Melissa H. is the mother of Chris H., a resident current in Phase III of Turnbridge’s  sober living program.  As a result of his addiction, Chris’ family watched him transform from a fun loving, peaceful brother and son into an unrecognizable person.  Since Chris came to New Haven, his family has experienced the joy of having that loving son and brother back in their lives.   

According the Melissa, Chris started using drugs and alcohol in high school.  After having some issues with pain, Chris was prescribed opiates, which ignited his issues with addiction.  At some point after high school, Chris started using heroin.  His family did not know the extent of his drug use, until a traumatic death in the family, and a difficult break-up, brought things to a head.  “I think there were some triggers that really pushed him over the edge,” explains Melissa.  “Soon after that time, we noticed the signs and eventually Chris asked if we would send him to treatment.”

Chris went to a 30-day facility in Arizona, but relapsed shortly after returning home.  He went to the same facility again, and had the same result.  Things were only getting worse.  “At that point I was fully aware of his heroin use,” Melissa says.  “I was beyond frantic every time my phone rang and basically every time he left the house, because I didn’t know what was going to happen.  It just kept snowballing and snowballing.” 

She was doing a lot of research for an appropriate treatment path for Chris, and finally decided to hire an interventionist.  The interventionist advised Chris to enroll at Turnbridge, and Chris came to New Haven in September 2013.  While in the program, Chris has done a lot of work on himself and his family has clearly noticed the results. 

“It was hard to see this peaceful person who had brought so much joy into our lives go the complete other direction,” says Melissa.  “It has been great seeing that peace being restored within him.”