Zae’s Story

I turned 21 on January 11. At the time, I was working as a CNA and had been doing that for about a year and a half. Once I turned 21, though, I slowly started drinking. It started with one or two of the 99 shooters, then it became more and more until I was drinking 13 to 15 of them a day.

At the time, I was living with my brother and sister. They started noticing how bad my drinking was getting. My brother would come home and find me passed out in the bushes, in the bathtub, in the kitchen while I was cooking, or in the living room with bottles around me. My sister has a six year old son, and thank God he never found the bottles, but even he started noticing when I was drinking. He would say I was “acting funny” or that I was “in a good mood today.”

My family kept giving me chances. I would plead with them and tell them, “Don’t kick me out. I’ll do good. I swear I’ll be good this time.”

But I kept drinking.

One weekend, I ended up in the hospital because of how much I had been drinking. My brother and sister gave me another chance after I got out. I promised them I would stop.

Then they left the house, and I was alone.

I remember thinking, I know I just promised them, but they’re not going to find out. I have enough time. I’ll be good.

I went to the gas station, put $50 down and basically said, “Give me as many 99s as you can.” I went home, opened them up and told myself I wasn’t moving until they were gone.

I just started drinking. No breaks. Nothing.

Eventually I stood up and hit the floor.

I kept falling around the house, hitting walls and knocking things over. At one point I tried cooking eggs and fell onto them, burning my face and nose. My nose started bleeding, but I didn’t even realize it.

By the time my brother Chance and Pastor Mario found me, I was unconscious in my room. There was blood from the kitchen to my bedroom. They tried waking me up, checking for a pulse, and for several minutes they thought I was dead.

My brother broke down because he thought I was gone.

Eventually I came to, but I was angry and aggressive. An ambulance was called, and I ended up back in the hospital.

When I was released, my stepdad picked me up. I remember telling him, “I’m going to change. I want to be different. I’ll go to therapy. I’ll do something.”

What I didn’t know was that my family was waiting for me at home.

It was an intervention.

My mom gave me two options: I could leave and be homeless, or I could go to Steelbridge.

I knew about Steelbridge because my sister had talked about the program before. She had told me it was a good program and what it could do for me, but at that point in my life, I never really took it seriously.

Suddenly, everything was changing. I was thinking, I’m not going to be working as a CNA. I’m not going to have my house. What am I going to do?

But at the end of the day, it was still my choice.

I said, “All right. Take me to Steelbridge.”

I arrived May 26, 2026.

When I first got here, I didn’t like it. I had never been to jail or prison, but those first few days I was looking at all the structure, rules, classes, checkups and UAs thinking, No. This is jail.

I didn’t trust it. I didn’t want to follow it.

But as the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months, I realized it was exactly what I needed.

A lot of my brokenness started way before I turned 21. I had been smoking marijuana since I was around 12 years old. My dad introduced me to it. That was one of the ways we bonded. When he got home from work or I got home from school, we would smoke together.

Then when I turned 21, alcohol was easy to get. I bought it legally for the first time and thought, Oh, cool. I’m good.

But alcohol completely changed me.

Within just a few months, I was drinking as soon as I woke up. I was drinking before work. I was driving drunk. I would run red lights and stop signs and make decisions I would never normally make.

By the hand of God, I never got a DWI. I never got arrested. I didn’t have a guardian angel. I had God.

The scary part is that I was never looking at the shot in front of me. I was already thinking about the next one. Then the next one. Then the next one.

I didn’t know when to stop.

When I look back now, I hear other people talk about drinking or using for 10, 15 or 20 years, and I think, I was only doing this for a few months and it already got me to that point.

If I had kept going, realistically, I think I would have died.

Since coming to Steelbridge, my whole life has changed.

As of September 29, I am four months sober. No marijuana. No alcohol.

When I first came here, I thought my only expectations were that I would get sober and grow closer to God. Now I expect more from myself. I expect myself to go to college. I expect myself to handle my appointments professionally. I expect myself not to procrastinate. I expect myself to stay on top of things. I expect myself to keep growing.

I’ve been given responsibilities here too. I became a driver, then an RA, and now a head RA. I’m only four months in, so who knows what God has planned for me?

I want to finish the full year. I don’t want to do six months. I don’t want to do nine months. If I’m already where I am after four months, who knows where I could be in a year?

Being one of the youngest guys here has also changed my perspective. Older men will come up to me and say, “Bro, you’re 21. You have your whole life ahead of you.”

Some of them are dealing with child support, divorces, kids, bills, houses and cars on top of their recovery. Right now, I have the opportunity to focus on my recovery and learn these things at a young age.

That makes me realize how much I have to gain.

My sister has also been a big part of that. She has her own testimony, and I always had this thought in the back of my mind: If she can bounce back, I can bounce back.

My faith is the only thing keeping me going.

I remember hearing Pastor Steve say that instead of waiting until the end of the day to pray, say something to God as soon as you wake up. I took that to heart.

Now, before I even get out of bed, I say, “Thank you, Jesus, for giving me a beautiful day. Thank you, Jesus, for guiding my steps, for healing my body, for giving me rest and for allowing me to be in this program.”

Before my feet even hit the ground, I want to thank God.

And when recovery gets hard, there’s something else I tell Him.

I watched Hacksaw Ridge, and there’s a part where the soldier keeps going back to save another man. He keeps praying, “Lord, help me get one more.”

I took that and applied it to my recovery.

When I’m tempted, I say, “Jesus, just give me one more day.”

One more day.

Then tomorrow comes, and I ask Him for one more.

I’ve been saying that for four months now.

Just give me one more day, Lord.

And I keep going.

Now I’m preparing for college and planning to study business. My mom owns a company, and she has talked about wanting my brother and me to take it over someday. When she told me that, I realized I need to learn how to run a business, manage a company, understand my strengths and weaknesses and prepare myself for that responsibility.

Before Steelbridge, I don’t know if I ever would have gone to college.

Honestly, I don’t know if I would even be alive.

Today I’m proud of myself. I’m proud of my journey. But all glory goes to God at the end of the day. It’s all His.

My brother asked me recently when I thought I was coming home.

I told him, “Bro, I’m going home.”

And then I came back here.

Steelbridge is home to me now.

I love being here. I’m thankful for everything this place has given me, but more than anything, I’m thankful for what God is doing in my life.

I don’t know exactly what He has planned for me yet.

I just know I’m going to keep going.

One more day.

“Watching my brother Zae, go through Steelbridge has been so meaningful and beautiful for my family and I to see. I’ve been where he is, and I know how much God used this place to change my own life. So to watch my own brother come here, grow, and start finding his way has been really incredible to see. I truly believe God had a purpose in bringing him here, and I’m so grateful I got to be a small part of that. Seeing God work in his life the way He worked in mine means more to me than I can put into words. I can’t wait to see where God takes him next!” - Zae’s Sister (Pictured Below)