Brothers say key to success is family support for addicts

WATCH – TELLING IT LIKE IT IS –

June 3, 2021 – David said he and his brother haven’t always had the relationship they have now.

“My brother used to be somebody that I didn’t know, and now he’s my best friend,” said David Pass, COO of Eagles Bridge Intervention Team.

When TJ was 15, he turned to drugs. “Within two weeks, I was arrested,” TJ said. “I tried cocaine, acid, alcohol, and had a possession with intent to distribute charge.”

TJ told News4Jax it just progressed after that. His mom and stepdad were addicts. The Pass brothers lost their mother to domestic violence as teens. Their dad didn’t know about substance use disorder, so they continuously moved — for a fresh start.

“Each time I moved was with the idea if I could just start over, I would be okay,” said TJ.

Eight cities. Four different high schools. Four different colleges. “Just to start over. If I start over, I would not do drugs anymore,” said TJ.

His dad let TJ, a chemically dependent person, become part of his recovery plan, which didn’t work. TJ fell into the same patterns no matter where they were.

“I didn’t have a problem,” said TJ. “I had a solution that was killing everything around us. The problem was I couldn’t not use drugs, no matter how hard I personally tried, but the truth is, I had a place to sleep, I had a car, I had food … people who love me, would not let me suffer those natural consequences.”