Sharing Our Stories

Our guest this week is Ozzie Cabral, Ozzie is from Commerce City who battled addiction at a very young age. He was sexually abused between the ages of 5-9. The trauma was hard on him, so it made it easy for him to start smoking weed at 11 years old. He felt happy and was smiling and laughing which he loved. Ozzie and his next-door neighbor started doing drugs together. She was dating an older gentleman who was able to get them cocaine. They then found meth at 13 years old and started using. Ozzie's cousin came down from California when he was 15 years old trying to stay clean, but it wasn't a great situation meeting up with Ozzie, so they started getting in to trouble again and Ozzie left his home at 15. He would stay in a crash pad for troubled kids which was owned by this lady Shirley who had had a bad past herself. She would let troubled kids stay there. Ozzie loved her she would laugh with him and let him stay there.

At 17 Ozzie loved rock music and he moved to California to stay with his aunt listening to Zeppelin the whole way. When he got to Hell A LA, he found heroin and started using out there again. It was scary for a young kid hitch hiking up and down the coast. His aunt left Ozzie and she moved away she couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't move in with his cousin his wife didn't like him and thought he was the problem. So, he was on the streets again. Ozzie found comfort in the ocean; he heard his grandmother's voice. Its Bigger than him, it feeds him, and it can kill him, so he believed that was his first higher power. He was given a yard work job from a teacher in Ventura which was a blessing for Ozzie. He got a greyhound ticket to get back to Commerce City, Shirley had died, and Ozzie was back where he was before using again. "It follows you wherever you go." Ozzie was drunk and wanted to join the Army to get clean hoping his friend would join him. Next morning, he was at the recruiter's office and joined, his friend didn't show up. The barracks was a huge party which Ozzie didn't expect. So, he was back drinking heavy doing cocaine and heroin again.

His first duty station was Colorado Springs, Fort Carson. So, every weekend he would go to Commerce City to visit this girl who had been writing him. He eventually got her pregnant and tried to make a good woman out of her. They moved to Washington where Ozzie had his second child. Ozzie's girl wanted to reconnect with her mother who left her at a young age. Ozzie dropped her off at the Seattle airport and went right to grab a hooker to find drugs. Strung out when his girl came back things started going back. Ozzie got out of the military and went right back to Commerce City. His wife left him, and he was in a bad hole, friends and people dying around him and getting sick from all the drugs. He convinced his wife to come back and he was going to get clean. He couldn't so he was trying to get his wife to leave buy degrading her and it was too late the cops kicked down the door and took the kids from Ozzie and took him to jail.

Ozzie's cousin shot himself in the head in front of his wife and 3 kids because he couldn't get a job, and no one would hire him. Ozzie was planning his own suicide after because he felt he was in the same position as his cousin, and he felt he couldn't do anything right. He called Stout Street foundation for help, and they let him in to the program. He was there for a week until the bounty hunters caught him. In and out of jail for warrants Ozzie finally got out with this guy he used to get high with. He was walking to the house to get drugs and Ozzie left and ran away from this guy needing help. So, his sister picked him up and took him back to Stout Street. Ozzie's grandma never saw him clean which hurts, he made a promise to them that he will sit with them every year for 23 years.

Ozzie is now 23 years clean. He went back to school and got degrees he is going to meetings and in the field. Recovery and the fellowship he's in is what Ozzie credits for him being such a beast in recovery now.

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Our guest this week is William "Bob" Schulz who is from Oregon but moved to Colorado Springs at a young age. His living situation in Oregon with his mother was not good as she was battling addiction.

The family moved Bob to the springs to be with his father. Bobs father had substance abuse issues but would raise Bob the best he could. Bob tried alcohol with his father at just 16 years old, but he didn't like alcohol, so he experimented with weed. Bob said when he was sober his dad always though he was high but when he was high his dad would leave him be, so he figured why not just be high all the time. Bob had trouble with certain kids in school getting suspended for getting into scuffles. After Bob finished school, he found hard drugs meth, coke, etc. Then he started to find out his friends were doing meth so then he became the local drug dealer. Sold them meth and then bought his in bulk. He got caught up at the drug house eventually and was given a f4 charge from the state.

He then joined/worked at a men's sober living home in 2004. $325 dollars a month that covered everything. He was able to put 10 years of sobriety together. Throughout this process Bob had a son with a lady and got his own apartment and a really good job. Bob then got a Facebook message from his son's mom asking if Bob could take him because she was going through a tough breakup. So, Bob became raising his son again while going to AA meetings and sponsoring guys getting AA tats and finally bought his own house.

The last year of his sobriety he was asked to distribute weed on the weekends and since Bob did it in his past life before he got super, he figured he could handle it. And his thoughts were why not take the extra cash to raise his 10-year-old son. He stopped going to meetings and stopped sponsoring folks, Bob became selfish and didn't think of any consequences. Delivering 40-50 pounds of weed from the springs to Omaha. Then his real job interfered with his runs where he was making 10k a weekend. Bob went out drinking for his birthday and got a DUI and relapsed September 14, 2015, at 2am. Bobs son went to a teacher and didn't feel safe at home anymore. Bob had to get the whole family involved calling his mother from New Mexico so after his 72 hours hold his son never went back home to Bob, he instead went with his mom back in New Mexico. Bob lost it all and wanted to end it all. It broke him. Bob was going to end it all when he got a phone call from a friend who needed something, claiming he saved his life Bob made a decision to OD on meth. So, he would start smuggling again across state lines cleaning his money through a tattoo shop. Bob was told on by an anonymous source and was arrested and taken to prison. Charged with 26 charges at first, he ended up only really being charged with 3. 11 months behind bars on a 5-year sentence. Getting involved with a re-entry program he was offered a job and was able to start being in the yards again and sponsoring. He has lost 140 pounds since 2022 and eventually would become employed at Tribe recovery homes. Bob now rides a Harley and has a new dog while working at Denver health.

"The biggest thing that I had to learn and am still learning is how to love myself and be accepting of myself and to have real expectations of myself the way I love other people."

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“Hassan shares his story of dealing with Incarceration, starting his second chance center from his car and becoming one of the biggest voices in Recovery & Addiction in the city.”

Sharing Our Stories is a weekly program hosted by SLiM from Max Media of Denver’s Jammin101.5 and Thomas Hernandez of Tribe Recovery Homes, a nonprofit organization that provides support for individuals in recovery from substance misuse & mental health related issues. There are numerous pathways to recovery, and each week we welcome powerful leaders and role models, who have struggled in drug and or alcohol addiction, have found a pathway to recovery, and who thrive as successful, positive community members with an ongoing vision of success. Join us as we share our experiences, strength and hope.

“When the world says, ‘Give up,’ Hope whispers, ‘Try it one more time.’ “

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Our guest is Sean Marshall from Colorado Springs,CO. Sean is in his recovery from being incarcerated for a string of robberies. Growing up he did everything to make his mom happy but he never got along with his Moms husband, which caused Sean to leave at a young age and get in to the wrong situations that led him to commiting crimes. The First sentencing he recieved at 18 years old was 10 years. And served 5 years of the 10. Not a good situation to step back into with his mother being un employed and his step dad filing for bankruptcy, Sean felt the need to step up and make things happen for his family, he did all he could going back to school and working 2 jobs but after only being out for 6 months he crumbled and started making the same mistakes as before when he first went to jail. Another string of robberies for Sean would result in him getting 45 years in prison!

Sean finally realized in Solitary Confinement that he had to make a change. The day he went back in he found out he was going to be a dad to a little girl. And he was tired of upsetting his mother. After years of getting himself back. Organizations would reach out to Sean because of the work he was doing on the inside, one of them being Krysten M Nelson from the Sparrow Justice center. She and Govenor Polis were able to get a clemency for Josh which turned his 45 year sentence to a immediate release.

Sean shares his story of incarceration and recovery, he now works as a staff member at The Denver Dream Center and gets to help people find the resources they need to be there best selves, his hope is for men and women struggling to get reintroduced back in to society after doing time in the pin. "Find help, Find God."

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Our guest is Kelly Mahana from Denver. Kelly shares his story of dealing with incarceration, drugs and alcohol. Kelly grew up with his moms side of the family which were involved in the gang life. His father passed away at a young age due to gang activity. So as Kelly grew up he became a northsider and would soon land himself in prison where his first day he was jumped by a rival gang. Kelly was scared for his life after that. The only way he could get out of his cell for free time was if he went to a drugs and alcohol class. He would go just to leave the cell and not take it seriously. After that he would overdose in prison and have to be rushed to the hospital where he said, they did the bare minimum to keep him alive. A real eye opener for Kelly that he got himself there and nobody could help him but himself. Michelle Smith was the one person who gave him a chance and got him in to TC for a chance to turn his whole life around. She went to his graduation, other co defendants did other legal work and Kelly would get 10 more years off of his time. Now kelly was released and able to join a half way house to start looking for Employment. Hard to find a job being an ex-convict he finally landed a position at a rescue mission doing 12-14 hours every day. Soon after him and his wife talked and talked about owning there own sober living home, 1st they would open a hot dog cart to raise money for the home.They would then get all the legal stuff out of the way and got themselves a lender and the day there new home was supposed to be purchased the lender pulled the writing from under them and they lost half of there money. An angel would come in to the Mahanas life and bless them with there home for sober living.

From addiction to recovery, Kelly shares his journey through dark times to the other side. Kelly now has his own business Authentic Recovery Homes which has multiple locations in Denver. They work with individuals from all walks of life from disorders ,mental health, addictions criminal justice system, substance abuse ect. Yes, we do recover. This is sharing our stories.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.