Dez England

Why did you want to become a Peer Recovery Coach?

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I wanted to become a peer recovery coach because I know what it feels like to feel completely alone and hopeless. I also know how hard it is to overcome addiction. I wanted sobriety long before I was able to achieve it, I just didn't have the support or knowledge on how to do it. To sum it up, my goal in becoming a peer recovery coach was, and still is, to show each person I work with that someone cares, there is hope and that they are not alone.

 

What does Recovery look like to you?

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What recovery looks like for me is freedom and restoration. Recovery looks different for everyone. How someone views their recovery and their path to recovery vs how I view mine can be different in many ways. I can almost guarantee you that regardless of what pathway one chooses for themselves, most all would agree that recovery looks like freedom and restoration ​

 

What do you like to do for fun?

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There is nothing I enjoy more these days than spending time with my son. I can't get back lost time, but I am enjoying the time I have with him now. He is an amazing young man and any day spent with him is definitely my favorite thing to do.

 

What does it mean to you to work at LITE?

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It means everything to me to work at LITE. It's not a job for me, it's a lifestyle. LITE stands for everything I believe in. Love God and love people. Tammy loved me when I didn't know how to love myself. My heart is LITE. I am truly blessed to be a part of LITE's team.

 

How do you use your story to help those with who you work with?

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When it comes to sharing my story with those that I work with I am an open book. I will tell any part of my story that I feel the person in front of me could benefit from. My goal is to connect with them and for them to know I truly do understand. 

 

I want you to imagine that you are the great-great-grandmother/grandfather that you dream of being, and you’ve created everything you wanted to create in your life. You’ve accomplished all the dreams, all the big goals that you’ve set. You’ve made them happen. You’ve got the family of your dreams. You’ve done it all. But you have to take everything with you. You have to take everything with you so that no one has access to your information anymore…all your social media content, journals, etc, it’s all gone. But you get to write down the three things you know to be true about your life, the lessons you would leave behind. All people would have to remember you by are these lessons.

 

What would you say are your three truths? From the top of your head… What lessons would you want people to take away from your life?

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1. If you don't make God the most important part of your life, you will never know true joy. True joy is only found through Him. Everything else is temporary and will only bring happiness for a short period of time. 

2.  When someone does you wrong and shows you who they really are, believe them. Learn the lesson and walk away. Hurting someone who has hurt you doesn't take the pain away and it doesn't make you any better. Always chose kindness. 

3. There is zero shame in failing. It's only a shame if you don't get back up. Falling is not failing. Life is hard, but don't ever give up. Even the smallest steps in the right direction will eventually get you to where you want to go. 

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