SPOTLIGHT ON RECOVERY: VICTOR WILSON

Matt Boster

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Posted by: Matt Boster
Date: Apr 30 2021 10:45 AM

HOLMES COUNTY:A vital component of combating the presence of drugs in our community is understanding that behind every drug arrest is a story - a story of someone who has lost their way and a family that has been torn apart by addiction.

Sheriff John Tate’s focus on assisting those struggling with addiction to find lasting recovery is just one step in healing families and giving those stories a chance to have a happy ending. Arrest itself is not an ending. Instead, it can be a new beginning.

Each month, we share a story from individuals who have successfully completed a drug rehabilitative program through the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office and are now enjoying a new, fulfilled life of recovery.

Their journey. Their words. A message of hope for us all.
The April 2021 Spotlight on Recovery story comes from Victor Wilson:

My name is Victor Wilson. I am 39 years old and from Holmes County Fl. I grew up in a small area in Holmes County called Poplar Springs. My parents divorced when I was 5. But for the most part I had a good childhood. In High School I got involved in sports and had a lot of friends. I started going to field parties and would drink with my friends. I tried pot for the first time when I was 15. But did not really enjoy it. But my Senior year in High School I tried ecstasy for the first time and loved it. This was the first hard drug that I had tried. Shortly after that I started hanging around with people that were selling drugs and manufacturing meth. So, then I started selling and using drugs more and more. At 22 I was in a car wreck and I was prescribed Lortabs, but I was buying oxycontin off the street and I was hooked. I then began to use oxycontin every day, and manufactured meth to support my habit.

At 24 I was arrested for possession of meth, listed chemicals, and paraphernalia. I went to jail in Jackson County. I then got out on probation and violated it for failing a drug test and went back to jail on a 22-month sentence. After that I got out and moved to Webb, Al. with a girl. I was strung out on pills and meth by this time. I then started manufacturing meth up there and one night before I was to do a cook, the drug task force of Holston County kicked the door in and I then went to jail for manufacturing meth, trafficking, possession, and listed chemicals.

I got out jail on bond and was then sentenced to a 13-year suspended sentenced and 5- years’ probation. I violated probation twice and they reinstated me twice. So, I ended up with another possession charge and agreed to go to a place called Harvest Vineyard (drug rehab) and completed it and probation. I got married and tried to act right. I then destroyed my marriage and relapsed, and in turn went to jail for grand theft and possession again. I ended up getting sentenced to a place called Keaton House in Panama City, FL. I finished that program and relapsed a month after completing the program. I was also on community control and was called in for a drug test.

Knowing I was not clean I went on the run and was picked up in Holmes County 4 months later. I then went to prison for 18 months and used drugs while I was in there. When I got out, I hit the ground running using suboxone, meth, and Xanax daily. One day I was out of drugs and stole some checks from my Grandmother and she called the law. The best thing she could have done for me. She saved my life!

I was in jail in Holmes County coming off all these drugs. I had literally burnt every bridge with my family and everyone that cared about me. Well, I knew who Jesus was and I prayed to Him. Me knowing the hole I had dug and the mess I had made of my life, I was in a broken, lonely spot.

Jarrod Jenkins came to the jail and he preached to us that day. I knew Jarrod before he turned his life around and I talked to him that day broken, telling him that I needed help. He said that he would see what he could do. So, I was in jail about 2 months before that praying everyday not knowing what was going to happen. So, another man I known for a long time named John Wayne Searcy, God used him and Jarrod to get me to a place called Dunklin in Okeechobee, FL.

By far is the toughest thing I have ever gone through, but worth it. So, at this 11-month regeneration program I fell in love with Jesus. He changed my heart here. Gave me hope and purpose. I am now finally free of my 19-year addiction and it is all because of him! Now I have been sober for 17 months. I have committed to another part of the Dunklin program called SLT. Where I am being trained to teach, serve, and minister to men in the program. And it fills me with joy, and I have hope for the future

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