My story really begins when, while leaving youth group, I was hit by the van of a pastor from another church. This was the first time I was prescribed Vicodin. I was 11 years old. I was prescribed Vicodin again in high school when I had my wisdom teeth removed. This time, my friends told me that pills were better when they were crushed and snorted. Desperate to fit in, I went along with it. What started as an occasional thing quickly became a daily ritual. 

My pill use progressed until I was doing between 1 and 5, 80 milligram Oxycontin pills a day. When my pill source dried up and, with absolutely no chance at getting more, my addiction moved into its final phase…heroin. 

I was an active heroin addict for 2 years. Finally, my parents had enough and evoked Casey's Law. Because of this law, I was court ordered into treatment. I was relieved and terrified. The judge ordered me to find a detox facility before I could transition into an inpatient facility. The night a bed became available for me I ran inside my parents house and shot up the last $40 worth of heroin I had. Then, off we went. I lasted 18 hours before I absconded. With the help of a friend I returned to my parents' house, broke in through the back window, stole the keys to their car and took their laptop. I sold the laptop to a pawnshop to get dope. It wasn't until after the poison was in my veins that I realized what I did. Because I was court ordered under Casey's Law to complete treatment, I now had a warrant out for my arrest. I was homeless, jobless, and penniless. I had no more friends and couldn't speak to my parents without getting arrested. I was driving a stolen car. Welcome to the life of a heroin addict. 

I lived in that car for 3 months. I rarely ate and never showered or changed, I spent every minute obsessing about how to get money for heroin. Knowing I couldn't do this forever, I stole a couple boxes of sleeping pills from the store in case the cops caught up with me. When that day finally came, I took between 60 to 80 sleeping pills while they were running my information. That is the last thing I remember before waking up three days later in Kenton County Jail. After a month in Kenton and one week at Boone County Jail, the judge gave me one last shot at treatment. I was released from jail and given 2 hours to get to the inpatient facility, which I graciously did. It took me over 10 months but I completed treatment all thanks to Casey's Law. 

This law has given me another chance. It has given my family back and it gave me back to my family. I am now a father, a real father, to four awesome kids. I am a full-time student. I work full-time as an addiction counselor. I am an author. I am a fiancé. I am the chairman of a non-profit organization dedicated to battling addiction. I am a mentor. I am a miracle. I am just one of the many "Casey's". 

Listen to Matt's full story here