From left, Tommy Streeter and Nate Moellering spoke at the 2021 Recover Michiana Fest. Photo provided by Streeter and Moellering

By Lasca Randels
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — In part four of the addiction series, Tommy Streeter of Warsaw and Nate Moellering of Fort Wayne discuss substance abuse treatment and sobriety.

Streeter is currently employed as a community outreach coordinator at Fort Wayne Recovery and Allendale Treatment Center. Moellering is the Community Outreach Director at the same location. 

Both attempted recovery multiple times: Streeter went to treatment seven times; Moellering went between 10-12 times.

“Eventually you get to the point where you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired,” Streeter said. “One day I decided I was going back to treatment again. And even at that time I wasn’t sure I was going to stay sober. I was just tired of sleeping in this dude’s attic. It was freezing up there and I didn’t have any heroin left, so I decided to go back to treatment. That was the last time I ever went, thank God.”

“I was tired of being homeless, of dealing with the police, tired of my car getting towed, of my family kicking me out of the house and tired of watching my mom cry,” Moellering said. 

“I also think our moms decided they were not going to continue to help us kill ourselves, because that’s what they were doing. I mean, if I’ve got a roof over my head and a safe place to get high, I’m gonna get high there,” Streeter said. “My mom finally realized that she was, ‘loving me to death’ is what she calls it, so she made me leave.”

Streeter and Moellering say spirituality played a big part in their recovery.

“I firmly believe I would not be sober today had I not fallen down on my knees the last time I went to treatment and asked God to help me because I could not help myself,” Streeter said. “Every time before when I went to treatment my withdrawal symptoms got worse and I would feel worse and it lasted longer, but the day after I asked God to help me, I felt way better than I should have. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. Even when I was praying, I didn’t know what or who I was praying to. I had never had a relationship with God before. I didn’t even know if I believed in God at that time, but I knew that could not do this on my own.”

“My relationship with God is extremely important to me,” Moellering said. “I didn’t used to believe, but looking back on my story – all the times I made it …”

“Someone was looking out for us when we weren’t looking out for ourselves because we should both be dead, absolutely,” Streeter said.

“I one hundred percent believe that I’ve been given a purpose by my higher power, God, to help others. To me, it’s undeniable for me in my walk,” Moellering said. “I’m not saying everybody has to go that route, but that’s what has worked for me and the people I choose to spend my time around who are doing the same thing.”

The two also spoke about why addicts often relapse after treatment.

“It takes 21 days to build a new habit. So Tommy had been reinforcing the habit of putting substances into his body to feel better since he was 13, and he got sober when he was 24,” Moellering said.”You’re not going to undo that in four months. People say, ‘You’re four months clean. How could you go back to that?’ Well, when that’s what you’ve been doing for 10, 15, 20 years, you’re not going to undo those things in four months. It’s just not gonna happen.”

Moellering tried numerous types of treatment.

“Every time I went to treatment and put myself around people who were trying to help me, even though I didn’t stay sober after every time I was in treatment, I picked up – what I refer to as a new piece of the puzzle, every single time,” Moellering said. “You’re always planting seeds with people, even if they’re not ready. The average person goes to treatment seven times. Some people go once and do great; others go 20 times. It takes as long as it takes, but like I said, I picked up something new along the way every single time.”

Addicts know they need to be in treatment, but willingness comes and goes. 

“When I was in treatment the last time, one minute I’d be like, ‘I’m on fire for sobriety. I’m so happy to be here’ and the next day, I’m like, ‘Man, F this place, F these people, it’d be easier to go put a needle in my arm.’ But I knew what that was gonna lead to,” Moellering said. “It just came down to action. And every time I relapsed, I didn’t fail … I just learned what didn’t work. I had to keep picking myself up, dusting myself off and putting one foot in front of the other.”

Moellering said it’s his opinion that there’s no such thing as a wasted treatment experience.

“Families will sometimes say, ‘We sent our child to treatment and it didn’t work. What a waste of time and money’ and I’m like, no, it wasn’t a waste. They still learned something. It may not seem like it, but they picked something up. And they were sober for a period of time,” Moellering said.

Through the Bare Knuckle Recovery vlog, Streeter and Moellering are working to raise awareness about all aspects of addiction, including resources for substance abuse treatment.

“We want people to come to us – not just people with private insurance who go to Fort Wayne Recovery but anybody,” Moellering said. “Because we remember what it was like when we were getting high. And we remember our parents going to doctors and the ER literally after we had almost died from an overdose and asking the doctor what they could do.”

Information about addiction and recovery may be found on the Bare Knuckle Recovery vlog.

Parts one, two and three of the series can be viewed here.