SOBER SUMMER We asked these clean and sober folks with various lengths of sobriety time how they plan to continue their journey of recovery in the upcoming summer months, post COVID-19. BY PAULO MURILLO DO THE WORK “I’m so happy I’m sober. I’ve had a lot of gifts in sobriety, and I’ve had some challenges.…
IT GETS BETTER SOBER We checked in with these clean and sober individuals with various lengths of sobriety to see how life has improved for them in their recovery. BY PAULO MURILLO REAL FEELINGS “Today I know how to solve all my problems through my recovery. It doesn’t matter how good, or how bad, I…
POST COVID SOBRIETY We asked these clean and sober individuals where they are in their recovery and what they look forward to most as LA County lifts restrictions on indoor group gatherings BY PAULO MURILLO THE CENTER “I wouldn’t feel as solidified in my sobriety if the pandemic hadn’t happened because I’m doing a Zoom…
THE COMPANY WE KEEP Three sober individuals with various lengths of recovery time talk about the dynamics of their friendships BY PAULO MURILLO MORE HONEST “I have my sober crew that I hang out with. I have my friends Ramon, Charlie and Leo who are sober, and then there’s my very best friend, she’s a…
BEING OF SERVICE We asked these clean and sober individuals with various lengths of sobriety time what being of service means to them and how helping others helps them in their program of recovery. BY PAULO MURILLO CONSTANT REMINDER “I get to see myself when I’m of service. It’s a constant reminder. The last Saturday…
Enjoying LIFE We asked these clean and sober folks, with various lengths of recovery time, what brings them love and joy as they trudge the road of happy destiny BY PAULO MURILLO LOVE & JOY OF SOBRIETY “My life is so different now. I just got a new place. I work in treatment now and…
STAYING GRATEFUL We asked these clean and sober individuals with various lengths of recovery time how they stayed thankful through a year that gave us a pandemic, a quarantine, high unemployment rate and a nail-biting election MY FAMILY “I’m grateful I kept my sanity and peace of mind during the pandemic. I have to say…
STAYING SOBER We asked three individuals with different lengths of recovery time, how they stayed clean and sober throughout the year amid the insanity of the coronavirus pandemic, the lockdown and stress over the 2020 elections REINVENT MYSELF “I remained willing to have my sobriety be my number one priority. Being part of the No…
FRESH OUT OF REHAB We asked these clean and sober individuals in early recovery what it’s like—after completing a rehabilitation program at the Van Ness Recovery House—moving into a sober living space. Life With Tools “Getting out of rehab is fabulous. I now have a life with tools. Being in the house was very uncomfortable…
Getting the vote out. My 12 Step Store’s owner and founder, RJ Holguin on the importance of civic duty BY PAULO MURILLO My 12 Step Store, the recovery gift and bookstore that specializes in 12-step literature, meeting Pride chips and medallions, racy clothing, 12-step jewelry including the Surrender collection, along with prayer bookmarks, and other self-improvement gift…
Sobriety Checkpoint We asked a few folks with various lengths of recovery time how they are handling not being to attend in-person meetings as COVID restrictions continue BY PAULO MURILLO More Present “There is not a better time for me to get sober than now during COVID. I’m taking advantage of the situation to focus…
STAYING GRATEFUL We asked these clean and sober individuals with various lengths of recovery time how they remain grateful during the COVID-19 pandemic. BY PAULO MURILLO A STEP BACK “Although being grateful can be difficult during these times, I am grateful for a lot of things. I was diagnosed with HIV back in 2018 as…
Sober No Matter What We checked in with these three clean and sober individuals with different lengths of recovery time to see how they continue to maintain their sobriety as the pandemic continues to shut down in-person recovery meetings and fellowship. BY PAULO MURILLO A MIRACLE Some people might think that it’s made things more…
THE NEW NORMAL We asked these clean and sober individuals with various lengths of sobriety time, what their new normal is like in recovery during the coronavirus pandemic. Stay Connected “I’ve been trying to get sober for 15 years. I recently got one year. It’s the longest I’ve been sober. When the pandemic hit, I…
Newly Sober During CoViD We asked these sober folks what who are fairly new in recovery what their experience has been like while adhering to the Los Angeles County Safer at Home Order during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. BY PAULO MURILLO A FIGHTING CHANCE “Staying at home is challenging, but given the tools that I’ve…
DEALING WITH DISTANCE We asked these clean and sober folks with different lengths of recovery time, what they have learned about themselves while social distancing during the LA County Safer at Home Order. BE HELPFUL “For me social distance has not been that difficult. Because of my age, I already stay home. What I have…
SOBRIETY & SELF-ISOLATION We asked these clean and sober folks with different lengths of recovery time, how they are maintaining their sobriety during self-isolation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. ASK FOR HELP “I just moved to a sober living after completing the Van Ness Recovery House program. I feel very fortunate that in…
Happy, Joyous & FREE We asked these clean and sober folks with various lengths of recovery time, what they love and gives them the most joy about being sober.BY PAULO MURILLO FEELING OF ACCOMPLISHMENT “What I love most about sobriety right now is my journey of self-discovery and how I’m getting to know myself on…
COUPLES SOBRIETY With Valentines Day in mind, we asked these two husbands with long term sobriety, how they make their relationship work while working a program of recovery. BY PAULO MURILLO KNOWING YOUR BOUNDARIES “For me, the tools of recovery make me the best version of myself. If I’m a person of integrity and I’m…
Sober New Year We asked these clean and sober folks with various lengths of recovery time what their year was like and how they stayed sober throughout 2019BY PAULO MURILLO ALLOWING MYSELF “I celebrated 12 years of recovery in 2019. Crystal meth was in my life for 11 years, so I’ve been meth-free longer than…
