January 2024 3rd Street Beat

The 3rd Street Beat Mission Statement

The Third Street Beat is a newsletter written by and created for people with substance use disorder. Our mission is to validate that experience so people know that they are not alone, and to emphasize the many unique roads that we take to recovery. This is an opportunity to share our experiences to creatively support each other. We are non-political, non-denominational, multi-racial, and gender neutral. Our mission is one of recovery and harm reduction, and all experiences are welcome. All the viewpoints herein are personal in nature and related specifically to our contributors’ recovery.

The 3rd Street Beat Editorial Team

The 3rd Street Beat is produced byThe Recovery Center community with assistance from the occupational therapy team.

Welcome back at TRC and Project Renewal

By Darryl Armour

Part I

I am glad and happy to be back at TRC and Project Renewal. I take a summer and fall break. Between June and July then October. I come back for the Holidays before Halloween in October. The reason I left I had bed bugs in my bed. I was itchin and scratching all night while I was asleep in the bed. So I was going to keep in to myself and deal with it. But it was eating at my conscience I was getting headache just thinking about it so I gave up and told my counselor Brian Knowles at the program

TRC and Project Renewal so Brian Knowles my counselor suggested that I take a break from program to get that bed bugs problem solved. And I told my super in the building where I live at that I had bed bugs. So supreme the super told me to pack up all my stuff that was in my room. All my clothes, shoes, sneakers, etc. Put all my stuff in black plastic big bags. So I did it. I pack all my stuff and put it in big black plastic bags and I throw away all my stuff plus the bed that had bed bugs on it. I throw everything out to the garbage I was a little hurt and upset that I had to get my stuff out my room. That when I was on the fourth floor and the guys that live in the building didn’t like me because I had bed bugs in my room. They was threatening to beat me up. So that got me a little nervous and thinking to myself and want to commit suicide. Just end if all and take a dirt nap forever. I know God will have punished me and send my soul spirit straight to Hell with the devil satan. I didn’t want to do that. So I just got to stay alive and deal with it. And my health got bad anyway. I had a mini stroke last September in 2023 in Washington Square Park I waiting for pizza in the park on Fridays. I couldn’t walk I fell down (Continued on next page)

three times my arms and legs was stiff. I wave to two cops that was in the park. They came and the two cops call the ambulance for me. They call it the bus so they came and took me to the hospital and I stay in the hospital two weeks I go to therapy to learn how to walk again. Thank you God I got out the hospital and I got to take stroke and high blood pressure pills. So I feel better now. Back to the park. I forget about the Black brother that help me get pizza for me. I couldn’t wait in line too long because I couldn't stand up and wait. The Black brother guy got the pizza while I was sitting on the bench in the park. I am back in the program so I can write my stories. The staff and clients are very friendly. I be back in with stories in the newsletter in January 24. God bless the city, the country, and world.

Thank you

Darryl Armour

always being with me through GOOD or bad, he will never leave me or forsake, his friendship is everlasting and always, I’m just grateful to be grateful Thank you!!!

-Anthony Thomas

Early Recovery

Early recovery sucks! There is not way around it and the question is always the same. Why do I keep doing this to myself? I wish I had an answer that wasn’t filled with excuses. But it wasn't always this way. At one point I had 11 years sobriety and a very full life. I guess that is one of the hardest parts about early recovery, how empty life can seem or well, it is. When I’m using is like entering a vortex, slowly taking you to dark places, nothing in the real world matters and slowly you start building a home inside that dimension and spending more and more of your time getting dragged in. When you finally make a decision to come out, there is not much anchoring you in the real world. No real friends, nourishing hobbies and no spiritual practices to feed your spirit. And that is the best way I can describe being a chronic relapser, no excuses, no bullshit. I built my home inside that vortex that I miss every day, so now I’m trying to build a new home, a better home, a home built on a rock and not on the sand, inside another dimension taking me to dark scary places. Today even if I just lay one brick I want to do it in the real world where wonder and endless opportunity and endless love live.

-Suez Foster

The Big Lie

I try tried to leave my job, but they said no just stay. They were like you weeded too much to go, so here’s where the big lie comes in. I told them, I tested positive for drugs and the place where I'm staying making me stay in for a month, instead of just saying I want to go. Now I have a month to come up with another lie. Tell the truth, and spend the whole month worrying what will I come up with next instead of just enjoying my time off. Peer pressure is a big problem for me, don’t people please, because in the end I'm lying to myself and making myself miserable so tell the truth it will set you free.

-Anonymous

Keep On Trucking

Don’t Look Back

Keep your focus in the now and maintain a positive lifestyle. Don't get stuck in your past mistakes or failures, take your past mistakes as a learning experience, learn from what you been through, don’t look at it as you failed in life. But get the positive out of your negative. Build a better and firm lifestyle just for the day. The past is in the past, and the future is not here until it get here, so just keep it simple and stay in the now. Because it will keep you grounded and you will be able to focus on what’s at hand. Today I thank my LORD and SAVIOR for waking me up this morning and allowing me the opportunity to live a drug free and worry free life. Just put your trust in the Almighty. Don’t look back keep your eye on the prize. With all the ups and downs and losses you have dealt with you are still standing by GOD’S grace and mercy.

KEEP ON TRUCKING DON’T LOOK BACK!!!!! :)

-A.T.

Get Apartment Ready

Understand how to manage your apartment

Know how to cook

Learn how to live with yourself

New found friend/leave them where you found them

Your apartment is not a place to get high.

Pace yourself and take your time

Remember to get a good night sleep

-Andre Muckle

Jeremy Williams

It has taken a long time to quit. Repeating the same mistakes over and over again. The worst being with drugs. I have sure smurfed my life up with the consistency of drug usage. I have dealt with the person I used to be. Maintaining my composure in those situations in the future is yet to be seen.

Withintherowsandcolumnsare9“squares”(madeupof3x3 spaces).Eachrow,columnandsquare(9spaceseach)needsto befilledoutwiththenumbers1-9,withoutrepeatingany

Answerkey isonthe

Lastpage

Lazy 8 Breathing

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c631675e5f7d11c36e3f7b7/1591065282695-TEMH33M7MHAJLGXZJ40R/craz