“I started coming to the recovery center after my sponsor at the time told me I needed to go to two meetings a day, or else I was going to go to treatment. So what I did was I started going to three meetings a day, because I didn’t want to go to treatment. I started going to three meetings a day, and what happened to me in those meetings…that’s where I found hope. I found strength. I found somebody who offered me a job, and it started a whole new career for me. It changed my life because I was able to work. I arrange flowers for some of the biggest celebrities and names in the world, and I work for some of the richest people in the world. And that’s all because I went to a noon meeting at the Recovery Center and I raised my hand and I said, “I need help. I don’t have any money. Does anybody have a job for me?” That’s were I met RJ and he was like, “Come over and help me at my flower shop.” I started coming to the Recovery Center when it was the older model. I remember I was a little scared, I’m not gonna lie, but once I was in there, I felt comfortable and I felt welcome because I was with people who were just like me.”

— Mike Cativo