OUR STORIES
1400+ lives restored with Revive’s help
CRUZ
Before coming to Revive, life had become unbearable with little hope of it ever getting better. After years of IV drug use, I had become miserable in my own skin and had pushed away everyone who ever truly loved me. I had been in and out of treatment since I was old enough to attend. I had lost all hope and had settled into the fact that I was always going to be a drug addict. I was sitting in Montgomery Co Jail when a bed opened up at Revive Life House, and on July 13, 2018, I walked into my 8th treatment center.
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ELLIOTT
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Jacob
It started when I was young. My parents were very large crack cocaine dealers. But they were also users. My parents were busted by the authorities when I was eight years old. I was taken away by CPS, and my grandmother got custody of me. I lived with my grandmother until I was 14.
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VERNON
In December of 2016, I had just committed a first-degree armed robbery. I was at the lowest part of my addiction, so I ran from these charges for two years with depression, anxiety, paranoia, and fear in every thought I had. In 2018, tired of running, I turned myself in for these charges. Seeing the video of how messed up I was during the robbery is what made me ask the judge for treatment. Revive was the only place I wanted to go.
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TOM
Life started well for me; I come from a good home with loving parents. Despite this, I always felt like I was entitled to more than I had been gifted. This desire for more drove me to compare myself against others constantly. Once my brothers moved out, I felt abandoned. I started to search for people who could always hang out. I now see how codependent I was, which led me to try to fit in with all the wrong people. I turned to drugs and alcohol to fit in, and before long, I would use every chance I got.
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“Their program is a well structured one geared at not just reforming from drug tendencies but also producing people who can sufficiently take care of themselves and their families.”
Das
“I am grateful for my time at revive. Everyone was really nice and I learned so much.”
Steve
Before coming to Revive, life had become unbearable with little hope of it ever getting better. After years of IV drug use, I had become miserable in my own skin and had pushed away everyone who ever truly loved me. I had been in and out of treatment since I was old enough to attend. I had lost all hope and had settled into the fact that I was always going to be a drug addict. I was sitting in Montgomery Co Jail when a bed opened up at Revive Life House, and on July 13, 2018, I walked into my 8th treatment center.
While at Revive, I learned the importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus. On that I built a foundation for my recovery. I started striving to build relationships with people who had gone
before me and had some clean time. I asked questions and continued to focus on God and my relationship with him. I soon learned that as long as I kept my mental/spiritual health in shape,
everything else would fall into place. God started to open my eyes to his goodness and things he had in store for me in my life. I obtained a sponsor and started working a 12-step program. Through learning to be disciplined in my prayer life, my relationship with God, and working a 12-step program, I have been able to maintain sobriety.
Since I graduated Revive, I have been afforded the opportunity to work for Revive as a Peer Support Specialist. I am able to share my personal experience with guys to help them overcome similar struggles in recovery. I got married in June of 2020 to my beautiful wife, and I have two beautiful kids. I have been able to buy my own home and have relocated to Nicholasville. I continue to attend 12-step meetings and work with my sponsor. I am involved in church leadership and strive to be a leader to those around me, including my family.
Life since I walked through the doors at Revive has changed drastically. I am truly grateful for the opportunities God has given me because without my relationship with God, none of this
would be possible.
This program has changed my life from the day I came in. I was pretty nervous when I came through the door. I had been through multiple treatment centers and just wasn’t getting it. And from the time–the peace that I could feel when I came through the door here–was just amazing. The staff–they love you back to life and with me, I was ready for a better life and that’s what I have now and I’m thankful for that.
I had made such a mess of multiple relationships between family, my daughter, my niece, nephew, mother, father, sister. I had made a complete mess and it was going out of control. I didn’t really know what to do and I came to Revive, and I knew God was going to take care of those things. And he allowed me to come to Revive and work on myself, and God took care of every bit of those relationships and is beginning to restore those relationships back with my family and daughter.
That’s the crazy part. When I was coming through the program here, I worried about those things and God just kept opening doors for me and all I was doing was putting all my faith into him and staying in my Bible and praying. He was just taking care of those things and I could work on myself and trying to make a better Elliot. God was helping me do that. I truly have the best relationship with my family, better than I’ve had in a really, really long time and I’m thankful for it.
There’s hope in recovery. First and foremost God and this program changed my life, and it can change yours. And if my story can help one person out there then that’s good for me. I feel like God’s called me to do that now and to reach out to some people I know and tell my story. I want people to have the experiences I had coming through this program and get the same things I got. I am truly blessed for Revive Life House and thankful for the staff. I’ve got a new family here in Nicholasville, Kentucky and I’m thankful for that.
It started when I was young. My parents were very large crack cocaine dealers. But they were also users. My parents were busted by the authorities when I was eight years old. I was taken away by CPS, and my grandmother got custody of me. I lived with my grandmother until I was 14.
The only reason that I moved out at that time is because I had come out to my family that my grandfather had been molesting me since the age of 13. He was charged with incest and molestation of a minor. But due to medical problems the state found him unfit to serve jail time. So at that point I moved back in with
my parents.
At the age of 16, due to severe trauma, I had already been smoking weed for three years. My parents were still in the same lifestyle and glorified the drug life to me. So at the age of 16 I was a massive pothead and sold drugs with them. At this point I was only selling weed while they were selling pills. Once the Florida pipeline closed down and they were no longer able to get their pills anymore, they moved to selling heroin.
Now 19 years old, I had graduated to selling cocaine, and using it heavily, about an 8-ball a day. It only took a few months for me to start selling crack and wanting to use it. I had switched because my mom was buying it from me and her friends. At this same time I had tried heroin for the first time with a friend via IV. I fell in love, and it was downhill from there.
By the age of 20, my parents and I were using IV heroin together. This continued t until I was 21. In 2016, my mom died from a blood infection due to IV drug use. This sent me further into my addiction. I just didn’t care for life anymore.
My father and I continued using for years. In January of 2019, I was diagnosed with endocarditis and MRSA and was completely septic. My organs were shutting down. I spent seven weeks in the hospital, still using, knowing I was dying.
In late February, my sister petitioned the court to have me committed to
treatment, in Kentucky this is called Casey’s Law. I entered treatment at Revive on March 19 2019 and have been sober since.
Now I work for Revive Life House. My father is over a year sober. He went into treatment on March 12, 2020 just shy of my one-year anniversary of sobriety. He now works for the program he went through as well as a peer support specialist. Today I have my own house. I have my daughter in my life. I have a functional family. All of this is because Revive Life House brought me closer to God. I have no worries now because I know that God and Revive Life House have my back in every step of my life.
In December of 2016, I had just committed a first-degree armed robbery. I was at the lowest part of my addiction, so I ran from these charges for two years with depression, anxiety, paranoia, and fear in every thought I had. In 2018, tired of running, I turned myself in for these charges. Seeing the video of how messed up I was during the robbery is what made me ask the judge for treatment. Revive was the only place I wanted to go. I went to isolation twice while in jail and both times Revive’s name, address and number was on the wall. And that began my journey at Revive. My revelation came on Dec. 25, 2018 at 101 Richmond Ave. during Phase 1. I had been there five days and was looking out the window washing dishes and the sky got bright and I knew that God said to me I was going to be okay, and a peace came over me followed by tears. I had many of those experiences while in Phase 1. My next “aha” moment is when I got to Phase 2 of the program. I realized that with every person who worked for Revive, it wasn’t just a job for them. They genuinely loved every one of us from their hearts’ real love.
My life is different in so many ways. Addiction is no longer a thought or option. Because of Revive, I have become closer with my immediate family, and I have real friends today. I have a different, positive outlook that I wouldn’t have had before Revive. I now have a relationship with God, I have a wife and kids who I get to watch grow up. I am now an employee of Revive doing what I love to do—helping other addicts recover and become productive citizens, just as I have. Since going to Revive I have a brand new peaceful and serene life because I was willing to have an open mind to what I was taught. It will change your life if you allow it to.
Life started well for me; I come from a good home with loving parents. Despite this, I always felt like I was entitled to more than I had been gifted. This desire for more drove me to compare myself against others constantly. Once my brothers moved out, I felt abandoned. I started to search for people who could always hang out. I now see how codependent I was, which led me to try to fit in with all the wrong people. I turned to drugs and alcohol to fit in, and before long, I would use every chance I got.
Recreational use turned into habits, and by the time I was 18 years old, I knew I had a problem. For me to admit I had a problem so early in life meant that things had escalated way too quickly. Most
people with substance use disorder do not come to this conclusion until much later in life. Despite my “knowing,” I still was not ready to change until years later. You see, my consequences were not significant enough for me to realize that I could not use drugs and live everyday life. I thought I could have my cake and eat it too. I tried everything to get away from
drugs, but there was a continuous pull to bring me back.
I now realize that drugs were but a symptom; I had underlying issues that I had never wanted to take an honest look at. Imagine how conflicting it is when someone “needs” to have people around because of codependency but becomes terrified they will leave. I would end up pushing people away so they couldn’t leave me. I was constantly conflicted,
and the battle nearly killed me. Jail time was slowly eating away at my life. I had destroyed relationships with everyone I came into contact with and repeated a cycle of treatment over and over.
My last stop for treatment was Revive Life House. I went because a faith-based treatment center was the only thing I had not tried. It was more to appease my parents, but man, did God show up. For the first time in treatment, I was treated like an individual. People loved me through my mess, and they helped me transition to sober living in Lexington.
I kept doing the next right thing, and Revive was going to open a new house next door to where I was living. I applied, and Jay Tomlian, our old Clinical Director, took a chance on me. I have worked my way up to Assistant Director of Operations. God has used me in many ways here at Revive, from Public Relations to Peer Support Manager. God used an old Case Manager here to encourage me to go back to school as well. I have maintained a great G.P.A., and I have already gotten an Associates degree.
Today, I am a homeowner, a son, a friend, and a dependable employee. Only God could have taken someone so broken and brought him to where I stand now!
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
(Col, 3:12-14)
“Our mission is simple. We are a beautiful people-centered, life giving addiction treatment center in Central KY, where the overdose mortality rate has increased over 50%. We treat over 400 clients per year through our dynamic recovery programs that now serve both male and female clients. We do this by creating a safe and welcoming environment where persons suffering from Substance Use Disorder (SUD) can find help, freedom and purpose for their lives. We are so grateful for this unique opportunity to bring awareness to this vital work.”