Holmes County Spotlight on Recovery: Marybeth Buckhalt

Viewed: 865

Posted by: Staff
Date: Sep 03 2024 9:57 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 August 2024 Spotlight on Recovery story comes from Marybeth Buckhalt.

My name is Marybeth Buckhalt. I’m 36 years old and am from Midland City Alabama. I moved to Florida in 2011 and got my LPN license. I had a house, car, and a family.

From the outside it seemed like the perfect life but little did anyone know the issues I dealt with on a daily basis. At an early age I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression.

Dealing with life on life’s terms was always harder for me. I had tried several medications over the years but never liked how they made me feel so I opted to basically just deal with it on my own.

However when I got divorced and my family fell apart it was more than I could bare. At this point in my life I was introduced to meth for the first time and boy did I think I had finally found a cure for the difficulties in my life.

I started out by smoking it and it made all my problems better. I no longer worried all the time or hated life. It did for me what the doctors could never do….or so I thought.

The longer I did it the worse things in my life started to become. Over the course of ten years I managed to loose my nursing license, become homeless, and go to jail multiples times.

I also had become an IV drug user. Something I swore I would never become. I thought I could control it but it most definitely controlled me.

No matter how hard I tried the cycle continued. I was arrested for the last time on January 25, 2023 with new charges and a violation of probation.

I didn’t care anymore and at that point would have rather been dead. I was so tired of the cycle. I knew life wasn’t suppose to be like this. During this last incarceration an officer could tell I wanted a different life and recommended Jill’s Place Recovery Program.

I wrote my public defender and within 3 months I was in Naples Florida checking into Jill’s Place.

God had his hand on my life the entire time. Coming to Jill’s Place was the best decision I ever made.

I was able to deal with all the past traumas and work through all the pain that I had been holding onto including all the guilt and shame. I never knew that being sober could be so amazing and fun. I never knew that life could be so enjoyable without drugs. 

Allowing God in my heart has completely changed my life. Today I am sober and am grateful for my life.

Holmes County Spotlight on Recovery: Marybeth Buckhalt

<- back