Story and Photography by Selena Haynes
Alcohol, drugs, smoking – they’re all synonymous to those in the LGBTQ+ community who are addicted. When faced with so much hatred, it’s natural to feel doubt and want to feel anything but rejection, depression, anxiety and the like. Too often, the only times that LGBTQ+ people can feel safe and welcome to be themselves is when they are masking these feelings. In fact, the Center for American Progress estimates that 25% of gay and transgender people abuse alcohol, compared to 5 to 10 percent of the general population.
Chad Curtis knows this all too well.
Curtis, who is non-binary and uses the pronouns he and she, was using as a teenager. His parents forced him to go to 12-step meetings when he was 18. They didn’t do him any good as he felt like he didn’t fit in. “I felt ostracized and different like I have all my life for being gay,” Curtis said. “My coming out story when I was 18…my dad asked if I was using drugs because I was bisexual and I said sure.”
Statistics have shown that drug use is more prevalent in the LGBTQ+ community when compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Men who have sex with men are 12.2 times more likely to use amphetamines and 9.5 times more likely to use heroin than men who do not have sex with men.
The Lowest Low
Curtis struggled in high school because he was never diagnosed with ADHD, generalized anxiety disorder, substance use disorder or seasonal depression. After high school, he went to college but dropped out to use. Curtis talked about how he even used while on chemotherapy after being diagnosed with Stage 3 testicular cancer that metastasized between his pancreas and stomach.
“A lot of people in recovery talk about you gotta hit rock bottom. No, you don’t. Put down the shovel and stop digging. My bottom was a culmination of bottoms. I didn’t stop using through chemo. I didn’t stop using when my dad was on his deathbed and threw my hand away and said ‘you’ve been drinking get away from me.’”
Curtis blacked out at Play one night and ended up in the hospital. His family has been looking for him all night and thought he was dead. “I had heard my mom’s pain before, but it felt different.”
He went home, slept for 48 hours and then opened a beer and started crying. He then said, “God if you’re fucking real, I can’t do this anymore. I don’t know what to do, but you gotta help me.” At that moment, he felt his deceased father’s presence. “Something said pour out the beer. I poured the beer out.”
Curtis said he felt not only the presence of his father but the presence of God. “There were these two distinct loving spirits there. At that moment I knew I never had to use again. That was June 30, 2013. My clean date is the next day.”
Curtis will be clean for 10 years on July 1, 2023. That’s a whole decade of sobriety. “I didn’t even think a few days clean was possible back in the day,” Curtis said. During that time, Curtis went back to college and earned his Masters of Social Work. He was an honors graduate, vice president of the social work club and president of the honors college. Curtis is also a certified trauma specialist and certified peer recovery specialist. He currently works providing counseling to teachers and government employees. His passion though – We Are One Recovery.
We Are One Recovery Begins
After everything Curtis experienced, he realized the importance of people needing a place to be themselves. Curtis took out a loan and bought a house that he turned into the first LGBTQ+ recovery home in Tennessee.
“I want to offer a place where people feel loved and accepted just as they are. One hundred percent of our clients have said that they have been discriminated against for being who they are. This is the safest place. I have people who have left other halfway houses and treatment centers or the judge has told them they are coming to live with us because they were discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. That’s why I started this so people can have that safe place to work on themselves and figure out who they are,” Curtis said.
Officially opened in August 2022, We Are One Recovery houses up to eight people. There’s an admit fee that covers drug testing, paperwork and the first week’s rent. After that, people pay weekly rent. People can stay as long as necessary.
Curtis is currently waiting on a determination of two grants. These grants, if awarded, will allow for another house to be purchased. The one in mind is a triplex with seven bedrooms that can house 17-19
people.
Current services offered include case management, individual trauma counseling, treatment plans, relapse prevention, HIV and Hepatitis C testing, life skills coaching, resume building/job placement, and budget planning and saving. They hold group therapy every Sunday.
Curtis eventually wants to start an intensive outpatient program (IOP) along with an inpatient rehabilitation program.
Addiction treatment programs that address common sensitivities to the LGBTQ+ community such as homophobia, family problems, violence, and social isolation can be especially effective for LGBTQ+
individuals as was noted in the Journal of Substance Use & Addiction Treatment.
Utilizing empowerment, social support therapy, contingency management, motivational interviewing, and cognitive-behavioral therapy within addiction treatment can lead to not only a higher likelihood of entry to treatment but also successfully maintaining sobriety.
Curtis is aiming high for his community stating, “After setting up these homes, I want to start moving to other states. I don’t ever try to limit what God wants me to do.”
About We Are One Recovery
For more information on We Are One Recovery, visit https://www.facebook.com/WeAreOne.Nashville.
