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| Pair discusses overcoming alcohol addiction |
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2/27/2015
By Tom Marshall
Senior Advocate writer
Kristi Cornett was having an overdose and her so-called “friends” dumped her on the side of the road in a panic thinking she was dead.
They went back to the house where Kristi overdosed in an attempt to cover up the evidence if police came asking questions, she was later told.
But Kristi came to and walked to a nearby gas station to get help. Still, that wasn’t enough to get her off drugs, she said.
That didn’t happen until Kristi was arrested on a facilitation to burglary charge and placed in an intensive outpatient therapy program (IOP) through Pathways of Morehead, where she lived.
The date was July 23, 2012. Despite tremendous struggles she has stayed clean.
Since that time life has changed dramatically for the better, Kristi said. She has a full-time job at Odyssey Counseling in Mt. Sterling, her own home, a fiance´ and custody of her 3-year-old daughter.
“My life is wonderful now,” she said. “I didn’t think I would ever have this.”
Kristi, 24, said she started experimenting with alcohol and marijuana when she was 13, but it soon blossomed into a full-scale addiction in which she tried most everything, including her preferred drug, oxycontin.
Through IOP, Kristi got to the heart of her drug problem—a troubled family life. She had also had a close friend die and was in and out of bad relationships, Kristi said.
It was through drug treatment that Kristi was introduced to God. She has since been saved, in more ways than one.
Kristi said she underwent a spiritual healing. She talks about her recovery with enthusiasm and gives credit to God for saving her life.
“I have a perfect relationship with God now,” she said. “He has given me everything.”
Kristi also learned to recognize the triggers that could influence her to relapse and how to deal with them.
When her drug counselor, Jason Jones, left Pathways to help start Odyssey Counseling in Mt. Sterling she followed. She is now an office worker there.
Her role there goes beyond that. She also provides peer support to those undergoing treatment.
Kristi said she wants to encourage people to get help and to make a difference in people’s lives. She said she hopes her story inspires others to seek help.
“It’s about showing them a new start,” she said.
For Cassie Jones, Jason’s wife, the problem was alcohol, which she started drinking regularly at 16.
Soon after she became involved in an unhealthy marriage and began working as a bartender in which she had unlimited access to as much free alcohol as she wanted.
When her marriage came to an end she crossed paths with Jason, a recovering drug addict who had turned his life around.
They became involved and Jason encouraged her to give up alcohol. His efforts didn’t work at first, Cassie said.
Eventually, Jason gave Cassie an ultimatum to either give up drinking or the relationship was over, she said.
Cassie began accompanying Jason to church and built a relationship with God that resulted in her getting saved. Jason went to work as drug and alcohol counselor.
That led Cassie, 29, back to school at Morehead State University to pursue a career in counseling herself. She now works alongside Jason as a counselor at Odyssey.
Cassie said she couldn’t have gotten sober without Jason. They are about to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary.
Cassie also serves as a spiritual adviser for Kristi offering guidance and support.
Odyssey tries to fit a treatment program to the needs of each client through education, faith and individual and group support meetings. Those meetings are confidential.
While God has been a big influence for both Kristi and Cassie, God is not pushed on anyone, however, Cassie said.
Regardless of what a person may have done or how far they’ve fallen, clients can expect no judgment from counselors or their peers, she said.
Kristi said Cassie and her husband lead by example.
Having gone through the struggles themselves, they know that addicts need love and support as much as anything.
They also know the tricks of the trade when it comes to dealing with addicts like manipulation, lying, cheating and stealing, Cassie said.
Like Kristi, Cassie said she wants the community to know that there is help out there for those who desire change.
“There is help out there if people ask for it,” she said. “We want people to know they can start over.”
Odyssey, which is part of Addiction Recovery Care, offers support groups throughout the business day and evenings. It tries to cater to those who are currently employed.
It is located in Bruce Professional Park across from the Bypass Fire Station.
For more information about the programs offered at Odyssey, call 606-653-1275 or visit www.arccenters.com. ARC also operates a 24-hour free addiction help line at 888-520-3912.
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