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Chris Scaroni

Chris Scaroni

Veteran and Plant Operations Mechanic.

Peer, Ally.

Sober date: April 17, 2019

I was first prescribed pain medication around 20 years old after I injured my back on my first tour in Iraq. A couple of years ago I went straight from taking prescription pain medication to shooting heroine overnight. My life got completely unmanageable. I lost my job, I didn’t get to see my son, my house was condemned, and there was drug trafficking in the neighborhood. I was then removed from my house and lived on the streets in Moscow where around that time I started using meth as well as heroin. I found myself living on the floor behind a couch in a one-bedroom apartment where 10 other people were living. I continued to use despite constant police contact and got a dog at large charge. Eventually, I was no longer able to maintain my ignition interlocking device at which point my license was suspended, so I was stuck with no vehicle, no house, and living in a trap house.
I was first prescribed pain medication around 20 years old after I injured my back on my first tour in Iraq. A couple of years ago I went straight from taking prescription pain medication to shooting heroine overnight. My life got completely unmanageable. I lost my job, I didn’t get to see my son, my house was condemned, and there was drug trafficking in the neighborhood. I was then removed from my house and lived on the streets in Moscow where around that time I started using meth as well as heroin. I found myself living on the floor behind a couch in a one-bedroom apartment where 10 other people were living. I continued to use despite constant police contact and got a dog at large charge. Eventually, I was no longer able to maintain my ignition interlocking device at which point my license was suspended, so I was stuck with no vehicle, no house, and living in a trap house.
I was arrested on a warrant for non-sufficient funds, my mom bailed me out, and I was going to all my court hearings. When I showed up for my Veteran’s treatment court hearing, they arrested me for another warrant I had after I had been using in the court parking lot right before. At that point, I was put in jail for a month and trying to get into treatment. Before I could get into Veteran’s Treatment court, I had to take care of another misdemeanor warrant in Spokane county. They released me from jail to take care of that warrant. I overdosed in Moscow a couple of days after being released and immediately left for Spokane following the overdose to take care of the misdemeanor warrant. Once that warrant was taken care of, I came back to Lewiston for Veteran’s Treatment court. At that point there was another felony warrant out for my arrest, was arrested again, and put in jail again. I finally got into Veteran’s Treatment court. They sent me to treatment in Walla Walla to do a 90-day inpatient treatment program. Once I completed treatment in Walla Walla, I came back and started at ChangePoint and First Step 4 Life, while continuing to go to AA and NA meetings. I was able to get stable housing, and eventually got a job working at Tri-State Memorial Hospital as a plant operations mechanic. I have continued to live clean and sober to this day. The center has helped in many ways: the volunteer opportunities, the atmosphere of the building itself is very conducive to recovery itself, the welcoming atmosphere, and it is inclusive. The center helps me feel like I belong.

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