Warren Boyd The Cleaner
Warren Boyd has an unusual job. He is an addictions counselor, and such a successful one that Benjamin Bratt’s character William Banks on A&E’s new hit show The Cleaner is based on him. His story is one of crime, redemption and ultimately success, as his rehab centers and television show help more and more people each day.
Warren Boyd with Benjamin Bratt The Cleaner
Boyd was born in Santa Rosa, California in 1958. By the time he had reached the age of 32, he had nine DUI convictions and had spent five years in prison. He was addicted to alcohol and cocaine, and had been in and out of 26 rehab programs. He has said “It doesn’t matter if you’re a celebrity, a law professor or a construction worker. Addiction is a struggle for everyone.” He first came to face these addictions in 1990. Just before returning to prison, his girlfriend Deedee gave birth to their first child, and the experience changed him. He entered the system again and spent 15 months thinking about his family, and finally got clean through the 12-step program.
Because of his own strong addictions and difficulties overcoming them, he knows that extreme actions are sometimes necessary to break an addict’s cycle of abuse. He got out of prison and became a counselor to people going through the same things he had to. His personal knowledge of their problems gives him special insights into how to help them, and his counseling went from its humble beginnings, to his current status of running several private rehab centers, reportedly treating such public figures as Courtney Love, Mel Gibson, Whitney Houston and Robert Downey Jr, as well as being a co-executive producer on the show based on his life, The Cleaner. On top of this, he and his team, composed of former addicts, are available 24 hours a day for interventions. His public and personal lives — he married his girlfriend Deedee and they have three children together — keep him busy, but he has no plans to quit being a counselor, despite the newfound fame and attention his new job as a producer has brought him. The show is a look back for him, as he says that it “sets my life back about twelve to thirteen years ago. So at that time there were a small group of four to five people and I didn’t have as many devices – didn’t have as many methods to be able to get things done as I do now.” Boyd, however, plans on moving forward and continuing to help people.
William Boyd on Set with William Banks
The idea for The Cleaner came about during a conversation Boyd had with show creator Jonathan Prince. Boyd has always stuck with something a senator told him years ago, and that was if his addiction interventions could be shown or demonstrated on a larger scale, they would be able to reach out and help a lot of people. Speaking of it, he says “that always rings in my head when we’re doing things like what I’m sitting up here doing right now. My hope is that we can reach a vast amount of people. Even if it’s a small enough message to get someone to start thinking about that there is some sort of an idea that there is hope. It’s okay to — the bottom line for me is it’s okay to get help and it’s also okay to help somebody.” The show for him is another way of counseling people. If someone is struggling with addiction, or someone’s loved ones see an episode and decide they finally need to step in, so much the better. So long as people get the help they need.
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37 responses so far ↓
1 Catherine Todd // Mar 19, 2009 at 9:58 pm
My son is an alcoholic (I don’t know about drugs) and I hope and pray he is watching this show. He reminds me so much of the interventionist… always frustrated, always angry, always sad inside; a tortured soul. Would that he could get the help he needs. It took me almost 40 years to realize that nothing I do or say will help him. People have to do it themselves. But God loves us all and God loves them and if he will just ask for help, Grace is sure to follow. Thank you for such a profound and important show. Realism at it’s best.
2 Tonya B. // Jun 12, 2009 at 10:18 pm
I’ve been an addict for going on 9 years, i don’t even know who i really am anymore. I’ve given up on hope and mostly on myself. I’ve been in and out of several rehabs and detox centers. The Cleaner gives me some hope back that one day I will meet someone to really help me and i will beat my addiction and my own demons.
3 Robin W. // Jun 13, 2009 at 9:00 pm
I also know the horrors of addiction. I celebrated 6 years clean this past Feb. I can relate to many of the people on the show, including the interventionist. I have left my own family in order to help others struggling with addictions as well. And a note to Tonya B. : You can get clean! There is hope and don’t give up!!! Sometimes it’s hard but it is ALWAYS worth it when you get to the other side.
I want to thank Warren Boyd for sharing his story and to the cast and crew for producing this show. It has often helped me through tough times. Keep it coming.
4 Kathryn // Jun 13, 2009 at 11:47 pm
I love this show. It hits home for me, as I am also a recovering addict.
I got clean for the first time in 1995. I hit a pretty hard bottom. My addiction took me all the way to the alleys and parking structures in Portland, Oregon, with a needle in my arm (or legs, neck, anywhere really). I was completely hooked on heroin and speedballing was my ideal. I was dead, really. I just accepted that this was how I was destined to die, and the most of the time I welcomed the thought of death. Hopelessness, despair and emptiness was my sad and pathetic existence as I stood daily on the street corner waiting for a John to pick me up. I was only 27 years of age, and still very attractive (by street standards) with the exception of my rotting teeth. I rarely opened my mouth because of the humiliation of my teeth.
I did not walk into a detox center. I did not volunteer to go to treatment. What got me “clean” was bacterial endocarditis. I entered the hospital, severely sick and malnutritioned, and was placed in the ICU unit. Three months later I woke up, still in ICU, with a tracheotomy and failed kidneys. Respiratory, kidney and partial liver failure along with septic shock. I was given a 20% chance to live. This took me a year to recover from…..all of my hair fell out and I was 95% atrophied. I could not even walk when I left the hospital.
Here I sit today with 13 years clean. I have worked with addicts, primarily in treatment centers and am just now pursuing a nursing degree (I start nursing school this November).
The hardest part of recovery was learning how to live. The staying clean part was easy. My fears of failure, fears of success, recovering from the trauma of several rapes and attacks while I was in my addiction and childhood abuse issues have all reared their ugly heads while in recovery. I had used drugs to escape those issues for most of my life, so to do it clean and sober has been both a nightmare and a blessing.
I have no regrets, though…….I can finally say that I love who I am today. Without the experiences I have been through, I would not be able to share my story and help others. You cannot gain this kind of knowledge from a book….(not that I would recommend someone to go through the things I went through in the name of knowledge…LOL).
I wrote this with Tonya B. in mind and for anyone else who may read this that feels that hopeless black hole in their lives. Life IS worth living…….and getting into recovery will save your life. It is hard (if not impossible) to see while you are in active addiction……but my prayers and thoughts are with anyone who may read this and relate to anything I have mentioned here.
Feel free to email me if you need to talk to someone who has been there. It is a privilege to be able to do that……..and I consider it a blessing, much like anything else in my life. When things are not going my way or things get tough (like getting an electricity shut off notice), I can find gratitude in that even……I think of once upon a time, sitting on a dirty street corner, trying to find a vein and my problem, all of a sudden, seems very small in comparison. I can find a way to pay an electric bill……I can find a way to deal with any problem that comes my way, because I am alive…..and I am worth it!
Peace to all……..xoxoxoxoox Kathryn
5 John R // Jun 18, 2009 at 10:19 am
Well like several other people here I have struggle with addiction. I started drinking at a young age, about 14. The progressed to Pot and by my junior year of high scool I was doing cocain and had gotten my first DUI. After High school thing and my first treatment program I stopped using for a while but it wasn’t long befor I started drinkind again.
It was about 2 years after my first DUI and I was 19 when I got my second DUI. I was a functioning alcoholic. I recieved probation, a couple weeks in jail, and was sent back to treatment. That was in 1992 and I stayed sober for a couple years that time. Then I slipped and started drinking again and I drank for several years without getting in any trouble other that loosing jobs and getting in fights. Then in 1999 I dot my 3 DUI. That time to my suprise I still only got 2 weeks in jail, couple years probation and sent to treatment again. I believe that was because I was in the military at the time and I was deploying over seas for 9 months to a combat zone. I was ordered to do my jail time when I returned. It was only about 6months after I returned that I got my 4th DUI and was given 9 months in jail, 2 yrs probation, and sent to treatment again. This time in my treatment my counseler relized that I had a new problem PTSD. This all took place in summer of 2000. I struggled to regain my sobriety but by july of 2001 I did it. I got straight on July 5th 2001.
On Feb 8th 2003 I was sent to Iraq for 14 months. I seen and did some bad stuff I was with a Light Infantry unit. We operated out of Al Asad in the Suni triangle. I already suffered from mild PTSD from Bosnia. When I came home for Iraq I was and still am really messed up. I started drinking as soon as I got home. I had saved $25000 while overseas and I was able to collect unemplyment at the max so thats what I did for a year. I paid my rent 9 months in advance. Then I drank every day from Noon till the bars closed. But I still had terrible nightmares. So I started doing cocain again, something I hadn’t done in 13-14 years. But I was still able to sleep on it because I would still drink. So I started to use meth. Meth kept me from sleeping, it stopped the nightmares. I did that crap every day about 100 dollars a day for 6 months.
Mr.Warren Boyd when I watch your show I’m still not sure how I kick meth on my own and how I kicked it cold turkey. But one day I looked in the mirror and didn’t like what I saw. Plus my folks were moving from Colorado back to Oregon and were gonna stay with my for a few weeks and I just couldn’t have them see me like that. I was an elite soldier, Airborne Ranger, Spent my last few years with 19th Special Forces. I couldn’t have my parents see my all messed up like that. So I quit, some how I quit.
The battle I can’t seem to win is the battle with PTSD and the depression and other mood problems it causes.
I respect what you do.
6 nick // Jun 21, 2009 at 9:41 am
I’m a drug addict and have been in and out of treatment centers for the past 5 years. I need help. I pray every day for god to send me a miracle and still day by day I cant stop the fix. I need help
7 Pam // Jun 22, 2009 at 12:20 am
I am a drug and alcohol counselor and want to start my own treatment center and would love to “pick your brain” on how to go about this
I’ve got 6 years sober. I like working in the Orange County area and love working with young women when I got out of school I worked at Safe Harbor and touched many lives
would love to hear from you
I LOVE THE SHOW
8 richard szczepanski // Jun 22, 2009 at 3:42 am
in 1995 you took me in to a program in garden grove and out of a hospital in tustin ca. u became my sponser and changed my life forever warren boyd please call me if u can it was called mainstream u took me in and you had a camero and private bussiness and after 30 days u let me run the home and you trusted me to babysit your 5 year old daughter this was in 1995 mmy wife had killed herself and i couldnt get a hold of you till i saw u in the tv program and iam proud of what u had done for not just me but many of others that followed your way please call me so i dont think that this is not a dream lov u richard szczepanski 248 548 3043
9 Elizabeth // Jun 22, 2009 at 3:24 pm
I am not an addict, so I can’t pretend to know what all of you are going thru. I AM married to an alcholic, and have at least one alcholic daughter-she does some drugs too, but I’m not sure what. Anyway. “My” alcholic finally got the message. ( I think) I wrote him an email titled “enough” He kept claiming he hadn’t received it. SO 3 months later I printed it out and gave it to him just before he was going on a trip with my daughter. I knew he was reading it. I could tell be the way he reacted. Quiet, no peck goodbye, nothing. My daughter said he was very quiet on the long ride.
He hasn’t quit drinking-bad news- but he has cut WAY down. He’s switched from rum to beer, and only has 1-2 every couple of days. NOw, before ya’ll tell me an alcholic can never-ever- drink-anything, I would like to submit that this is a HUGE improvement in our lives, and he’s a much nicer (and better smelling) person these days. I’d rather he didn’t drink at all, but I’ll take what I can get, and this is better than nothing.
All of your notes have been very informative. Thank you to all. I know it must have been hard sharing, but I’m very glad you did!
10 celeste // Jun 22, 2009 at 9:46 pm
i love this show…its so inspiring :] i think about william banks and his life and im grateful i didnt have to go through what he had to go through but i still have a life to live and things could get bad and i was afraid i would get so stressed i’d use but after watching the cleaner those thoughts dont cross my mnd anymore, because i realize drugs arent the way to relieve stress or pain…it adds to the pile of hurt and need
i love this show , it just may have saved my life….
11 Geri // Jun 22, 2009 at 10:52 pm
I love this show it realy hits home I like many of you ame also in recovery. I have been clean and sober for almost 12 years. I would get wired to the max til the whirly birds were screaming then pull out my botlle of tequilla. I woulld even give freebies to those who wuld bring me a bottle or 2 of tequilla cuz I was to amped to leave my house. For thirty yrs. I thought I was in control because I had a job made good money. Then I hurt my back was laid up made even better money staying at home getting loaded. Now I am in control and I know who I am and better yet I am ejoying the best part of my life my family and my friends. Thank God for those who realy care.
12 Nicole // Jun 23, 2009 at 3:58 am
This is for Kathryn. I would like to know how to contact you because my boyfriend is currently addicted to heroin and has been off and on for nearly 6 years. I need to talk to someone who has been there because my family is there for him more than his family is… they have sort of given up on him. They told me they don’t ever think he will get better and I refuse to believe that. On the 18th he was involved in an accident and was high. He told the police he was high and has been in jail since.
PLEASE email me @ dusk_til_dawn_2006@yahoo.com … thank you so much!
13 Dee // Jun 23, 2009 at 4:43 am
My mom is an alcoholic. I am only 15 and she has custody of me. My Dad lives across the country. During an intervention she refused rehab, and she refuses the reality that she is an addict. I try everyday to help her and she is unable to realize that she needs to stop. I have 2 mothers, a sober one and a intoxicated one, day&night. I love the day time one and we’re very close, but the night time one is who i am terrified of, the bad decisions she makes put me in danger all the time and it scares me. As i write this i am actually watching intervention and the preview for The Cleaner just came on,i hope and pray that one day my mom will come to realize that she has a bad problem and she will save her own life, because i can not do it myself and my family has given up on her, and she will not do it for me, for her or for anybody..all i can do is hope and pray for a better future for her. If ever in my life I bump into William Boyd, I will ask him for help. I believe in him and I believe in her.
14 Chris T. // Jun 24, 2009 at 5:45 pm
I’m a mulitple Felon. I’m an ex-gang member.I have a 2 year old daughter who is my world. I was born and still live in the city of Santa Rosa, Ca where Mr Boyd was born and rasied. I need this. I would love to be part of the team to help clean others and in doing so would keep myself clean. If anyone knows anyway to contact Mr Boyd himself please email me so I can at least offer my services. I’m sure this is a long shot considering thousands of others throughout the entire country are thinking the same thing, but this reeks of fate. Aztec707@hotmail.com
15 lenora smith // Jun 28, 2009 at 2:05 am
my god bless you for all the good things that your doing. i like when u talk to god and wait for him to instruct in on your next move. People need to know that god plays a big part in ther lifes and thats what helps then to on track. God will continue to bless you because u care about his people. u are awesome god bless.
16 maegen // Jun 28, 2009 at 3:46 am
I have been a herion addict for the last six years of my life. I feel like I dont want to live another day or I find myself laying in bed at night hoping that just maybe the herion will take care of it for me. I have tried to get clean but have had no success. When I seen the cleaner I thought if only I was lucky enough to have someone be so persistance to help me get clean or even start to help me see the light at the end of the tunnel if there is even such a thing. I would go anywhere to have half a chance to get clean. IF anyone knows how I could get help from someone like Warren boyd then maybe I could have a chance at a real life again. I dont want to feel like I dont want to wake up to see another day anymore.
17 Tawny Marie H. // Jun 28, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I’ve watched every episode. It gives me hope that there are people in this world who have souls. I’m not gonna put my info on blast, but what i can say is, I am an addict, I’m 18, I wish I were dead, I have no one, my therapist can’t even help, when i watch the show i’m reminded of how alone i really am. i need help but no one helps my mom won’t i have no family i’ve been to places but they don’t help at all please help
972-494-3450
18 Amy Lyn // Jul 1, 2009 at 7:39 am
I love the show! I sit and cry as I watch it. I always wish that someone would rescue me. I got sober in Nov 98. I was sober for 5 1/2 yrs. When my marriage broke up, I broke down. It is definitely a progressive disease, I now know what that really means. I have yet to get sober again. The treatment centers that are state funded are just overflow for the county jails. Most don’t want to be there. Everyday I want to die, hoping this crack trip will be the end. I want some guardian angel to find an awesome treatment center that can treat my addiction and mental illnesses. If I could only afford it. I will continue to pray!!!! God Bless!!!
19 t // Jul 3, 2009 at 8:50 pm
my name is t and im an alcoholic! i am 44 years old, and at the age of 18 my mom told my that i was an alcoholic, and i told her i wasnt because i could stop drinking at anytime. i did when i was pregnant with my son, and i actually stopped for about 8 years. about that time, my former husband and i moved to another state, and i started drinking again due to change. we moved back home and by this time we were both alcoholics. about 4 years go by and we divorce…i thought it was the end of the world and began drinking heavily. thank goodness for long work hours, which made me drink less. last year on june 16 i lost my mom. that sent me into a tailspin, so to speak. then in november i lost my job! i havent been able to find anything, so i basically sit at home, drink myself to oblivion, pass out and do it again the next day. i have become a hermit, so much so that all i do is drink and try to sleep. i dont even eat sometimes. i am so tired of this, but i dont know how to stop, and i also know that i will prolly be very sick if i do, and there is no one to help take care of me. i wish i had insurance, cuz maybe i could go to treatment! alcoholism is a very bad thing….i pray one day, i but the bottle down, but it is so hard to do by yourself!
thanks for listening,
t
20 eve // Jul 3, 2009 at 10:44 pm
I think the show is amazing I am a drug addict my self If I HAD THAT KIND OF Insiration back then my life would have been so much different.thank you for all that you do
21 amanda // Jul 8, 2009 at 7:39 am
i’m an addict/alcoholic who has been sober for 31/2 years. i know how it feels to wish to die, to feel alone, to feel like a failure, embarrassed and hopeless. i’m 30, i’ve been an alcoholic for 16 years. i remember the pain of withdrawl, the agony, the shame. i hated myself, i wanted to jump out of my skin. i was in jail too many times to count for stupid things like being too drunk in public, or hitting someone in a black out. i went to 3 treatment centres, moved a thousand times in hopes that it would cure me. it took rock bottom for me. once a popular girl with many friends, i turned to living in crack houses and stealing alcohol from liquor stores, hanging out with people that if not high would have scared the shit out of me. i lost my daughter to her dad, lost many friends, all my belongings and my home. i became pregnant, while i was i was smoking dope and drinking. i had no idea who the dad was, all the while battling bulimia. i had an abortion. i went there high. i hit bottom when i woke up the next day with an empty stomache and remorse so huge. i called the local hospital and begged for a bed in the addictions unit. i went there drunk to keep away withdrawls. it took me a week in there to come down. i left the hospital and stayed with my mom who really wasn’t happy to see me alive but managed enough sympathy to let me in. i’ve been sober ever since. i prayed so much the last time i attempted to get clean. i wanted it so bad. i believe that was what the key was for me. prayer. i hadn’t done prayer the the other times i tried. i pray for all of you who are still struggling. i wish for the light to hit you, that momment of clarity when you finally get it. when you see, you awaken for that split second. i wish you all strength. you are not alone, you can do this, it will be uncomfortable the first little while coming off but it will pass. hang in there.
22 jennifer clements // Jul 12, 2009 at 4:27 am
Thank you for showing everyone in the world the REAL DEAL on addiction. That we are not bad people trying to be good…..we are sick people trying to get better. From the bottom of my heart….thank you.
23 ro // Jul 16, 2009 at 9:13 am
Does anyone know of a service like this in NYC.
I need a professional interventionist to help with my surgeon BF who is addicted to stimulants, alcohol and cigarettes. I know he is both driving and operating on patients drunk. Can anyone recommend someone please
24 Dottie // Jul 31, 2009 at 3:55 pm
I googled this site to see who the real William Banks might be and found all your letters. As a recovering alcoholic of 14 years, I was so reminded of all the pain and agony we go through, especially when we have reached the point where we are “sick and tired of being sick and tired.” I know how prayer works; there is such power in prayer that I can tell you if you haven’t tried it with all your heart and soul, you are missing a great way to the path of sobriety. It worked for me, along with reaching out to other sober people who helped me get to this point. Thank God for AA. Keep on keeping on. God bless and good luck to all those still out there suffering.
25 Dean Fredricksen // Aug 16, 2009 at 12:16 am
Does anyone know how to get in touch with William Boyd?, My wife and I are desperate,my 26 Year old daughter was addicted to Meth & pain killlers, she gets Methadone now for 2 Years and is going back down. We have her 2 Kids 5 & 2 Years old in the day. but things are bad again we have had to change locks on the house, get a lock box, and are afraid to leave home. they will look for an unlocked window and break into the small lock box.
I had a stroke at 36, and I can’t take it anymore, her ( my kid, or her husband are going to kill there kids with the drugs and drinking. Right now all the help they get is methadone, and Dr’s that will give them amphetamines. today Sat August 15 th my daughter is sleeping outside in the swing in our mobile home park, and my neighbor took her 2 Year old because Andrea was out cold again..We are desperate can anyone help???I take a few medications that can not be stolen again.. my wife and I have tried to get her help but get nowhere, My wife of 25 Years and I are getting to the point of desperation, I am close to just giving up hope. I can’t raise 2 young kids again, I have considered shooting myself, if anyone knows how to get help in Ojai CA, I can’t seem to get anything. I think Methadone for 2 or more Years,no counsuling is helping.
Please exuse my spelling and grammer, never could spell well after the CVA,
Thank You,
Dean
26 Robyn // Aug 16, 2009 at 11:11 pm
I’d like to contact Warren Boyd. My cousin is a herion addict and believes “once a junkie always a junkie”. He’s been in and out of jail since he was 15 or so, he’s now 37. He has a great girlfriend. He’s currently incarcerated in B.C. , Canada. Our family would be willing to pay for Mr. Boyd’s airfare and time to speak with my cousin. He’s actually more like a brother. He has a lot to give and I know he wants it but can’t seem to get the monkey off his back. I think he’s ready though. Some inspiration might be the ticket. Mr. Boyd if you read this please email, it would be greatly appreciated if you would contact us. Thank you.
27 Lois // Aug 17, 2009 at 5:23 pm
My son Jason needs help. In and out of rehabs since 12 years old. He is now 27. I will fly him to California if you would help him please. Contact me, please. He is willing to go also. Thank you.
28 Daniel // Aug 18, 2009 at 4:19 pm
i am so glad for a show like this. it shows the truth and the despare, but also the hope. i work at a treatment center in PA. We show clips of this show to the patients all the time. they know the inside of addiction, but to see it from the outside- what families have to deal with- what it looks like on someone else- what you can do to help others. you can see a change in their eyes when it hits them. when they let it. when they are ready. i know warrens story is front page, but there are many interventionists, and many treatment centers. the most important thing is to offer the help, and find a place where the patients treatment is determined by the recommendations not insurances.
29 sharon // Aug 20, 2009 at 8:24 pm
love your show. Thanks for doing this this is Gods work.
30 Rsharde // Sep 11, 2009 at 12:23 pm
This show is amazing. I have never been through any of the struggles the characters on this show have experienced and I hope I never have to. That this is based on a true story only makes it more intriguing. It’s wonderful to know this kind of programming is on television as it’s something far more important than just another crime drama/investigative science show. This is something that actually touches the lives of millions in a very personal way. I’m writing A&E to make sure this never goes away!!
31 f // Sep 16, 2009 at 6:27 am
I’m not an addict. That is i don’t use. But after tonites show they said his addiction is my addiction. So that makes me an addict. My late husband was addicted to narcotics. I tried and tried to get him to quit taking pills. He would for a while or he would slow down for a while but in the end if i said anything he would take more. I never realized until tonite that made me a addict. He O.D. 2 years ago and left me with all the bills and kids. I’m still here facing his addiction or should i say our addiction cuz it didn’t just affect him.
32 Laura M. // Sep 19, 2009 at 10:31 am
I want to thank you Warren. I got out of the treatment center in Tustin, CA in June 1996, and I went into one of your houses in Garden Grove. Your sister was the house manager at the time, and I had a court date that you were going to fly back to Baltimore and attend with me as long as I was working the program and following the rules of the house. My sponsor was a lady from New Jersey who was dating a guy who was Jimi Hendrix cousin. I forget his name it started with an O, and he passed away and had the biggest most loving funeral ever. He was sober and running some homes for boys in LA when he passed. Well, I was the girl who married Len P. from Rock Hill, SC who I met at the treatment center 20 days after leaving rehab-yeah we only knew each other for 38 days and got married. He was in one of your houses in Westminister. Well, we ended up moving out and into an efficency in Santa Ana. On the night I got my 60 day chip I tried to commit suicide. I will not go into the details of the how, because it was pretty darn near successful. I was in a coma and could not breathe on my own for weeks. I remember coming to with you and my then husband and I think a guy named Rob yelling BREATHE, BREATHE!!!!, as they were trying to remove the ventilator and see if I could breathe on my own. Well, I lived-obviously, started using again and went back to Baltimore. Len eventually went back to SC. I did finally get clean in 1998 after I became pregnant. I was prostituting and really out there. God did for me what I could not do for myself-I was arrested without bond and 5 1/2 months pregnant. I ended up being court ordered to a treatment center in Maryland for pregnant women. I stayed 6 months graduated, went to a shelter for four months, got an apartment, went to school, divorced Len. Married my high school sweetheart, who I was actually using with during my last days 9he has been clean since Feb. 22, 2002) and I have been clean since May 12, 1998. I now have two kids and I’m lving life. Thank you for introducing me to recovery and for being so patient and willing to help even after I gave up on myself. I saw you on the A an E special about you as the real cleaner and I was blown away. I ran out and told my husband and I called my mom but besides Len I really don’t think anyone can appreciate the enormity of it all and how small the world really is. I have a billions of true stories that most people don’t believe and all of which are true and sometimes unexplainable-or at least unexplainable in worldly ways-this is now one of them. But one thing is for certain the Lord knows and we will all see each other again my friend. Thank you.
33 Drew // Sep 21, 2009 at 3:26 pm
I know what it’s like to have somone holding a gun to your head while being bound by duck tape, all because of some drugs someone thought you took. I know what it’s like not caring whether they pulled the trigger or not. I’ve used cocaine, smoked pot, done acid, X and multiple other drugs at any given time. I came from good family, and a good life, parents had money and all that. A lot like the people Warren helps, I just didn’t appreciate it. I couldn’t keep a job, wasted thousands of dollars on drugs and alcohol, totalled a car during a police chase. Although I never got a severe repremand, I woke up one day and realized that that wasn’t the life for me. I decided to get my life in check. I had failed out of school the first time around. I was ready to do something. One day I woke up and decided I wasn’t going to smoke pot anymore, and quit. about a week later I quit smoking cigarettes, a month after that quit using cocaine. I was good for about a 8 months, got a job went back to school and finished my college degree, the only thing I slipped on was smoking cigarettes. I found out my brother had stage 4 cancer which would later take his life about 3 years ago. I quit my job, and was into a few of the old habbits I had had before. I ended up totalling a car during a police chase at one point. Then I just decided it was time to move forward in life. A few months afterwards I got a good job. I met my fiance about a year after. I haven’t smoked pot or done any drugs for a year and a half. I quit smoking cigarettes again a little over a year ago. While I still drink from time to time, I do understand what it is like to have struggles in life. I understand people that can just quit things cold turkey and stay sobber. I also understand that rehab will not work unless the patient truely wants to get better and there are people who truely want to help them, and not just collect a pay check like some people in a clinic. I tip my hat to Warren for helping people because he is driven to, and truely cares, and I also tip my hat to the people that volunteer in clinics, therapy circles, etc. I would like to help, if anyone needs someone to talk to I am always here. Silverness320@hotmail.com
Peace be with you
34 lori // Sep 28, 2009 at 9:04 pm
great show im a recovering addict, from the letters ,im so glad people are watching and waking up america to the severity of addiction thanks for getting people to think and wanting to get involved lori
35 ro // Oct 13, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Can anyone help me
My xBF became addicted to Welbutrin, Alcohol and possible ritalin. He was a doctor and after much angst I had the Med Society do an intervention. Not only wont he speak with me – he still wont let any of his docs speak with me. I know he was evaluated but dont think he has agreed to residential rehab they are recommending. Does anyone know how long it will last until he is willing to talk to me again. He is still blaming me for his addictions. The referral was made this past August and his in-pt eval was for 2 weeks the beginning of sept
Anyone experience this please let me know what happens and a possible time table
thanks
sso
36 mackenzie // Nov 5, 2009 at 5:43 pm
I’m wrighting this for some miricle that someone can help. My brother has had an addiction to coke and crack for many years. Lately he has gotten very deppressed and fallen harder into the drugs. It is killing him and he says he has no reason to live. If anyone tries to help he closes them out. He asks for help and then he goes right back. I watch the show the cleaner and hope that someone reads this and can help him and our family. hes not only killing himself but our very sick mother. He has 3 small children that need thier father and the way hes going he wont be around much longer. PLEASE HELP!!
37 Tonya B // Jan 14, 2010 at 3:16 am
My email is blonde_bomb_97@yahoo.com
I started a new suboxone program today and it seems that i’m doing this all alone, my parents are not supporting me at all, they are already talking about me failing before ive even had a chance to start. I have no support at all except for my children telling me they love me but at 9 and 6 years old they don’t really understand and i don’t want to tell them what is going on, they know i have a problem just not all the details. Im so scared with no support so if those of you that read this please pray for me or whatever it is that you do in your life, think of me, I need all the support i can get. I really want this bad this time and i especially want to prove my parents and family wrong, that i am somebody and i do have feelings and need love and support.
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