The Counselor Who Helped Me Didn’t Survive His Own Addiction
When I first got out of prison, I was wrecked. I had a serious addiction and zero coping skills. Then, a month out, my father died. I was still in a federal halfway house — technically still in custody — and I handled it the worst way possible.
I went and bought weed to numb everything.
In the federal system, weed = heroin. A dirty is a dirty.
They sent me back for 102 days.
When I got out again, they made me go to treatment at Bay Area Addiction and Recovery. I wasn’t trying to “get clean.” I was just trying to stay out of trouble.
Then I met my peer support counselor, Jason Albertson.
Jason didn’t talk down to you. He wasn’t fake. He was an ex-heroin addict who actually understood the life. I felt comfortable with him in minutes. After the feds switched my insurance and forced me to a different clinic, he and I still texted. Then I moved back to Sacramento, relapsed, caught new violations, and went right back to custody. That’s addiction — one slip and everything falls apart.
Tonight, scrolling the news, I saw a name I recognized.
Jason overdosed.
He died on October 28th — three weeks after I got out.
It crushed me. I even called BAART to see if he still worked there, but nobody there even knew him. That’s how addiction takes people: quietly, without headlines, without the world noticing.
Jason helped people every day. He helped me at a time when I didn’t even think I needed help. He was real, honest, and fighting a battle he eventually lost.
Addiction is brutal. One mistake can end everything. And fentanyl doesn’t give second chances.
If you’re struggling — whether you’re in recovery, slipping, or still using — ask for help. Someone will pick up the phone. Someone will care. Don’t let this stuff take you the way it took him.
I wish Jason had one more chance. I wish he were still here.
#ReentryStruggles #AddictionRecovery #HalfwayHouse #SecondChances #RelapseRecovery #CriminalJustice
