Dwayne’s story
At thirteen the taste of alcohol was horrid; however, the feeling it gave me was unbelievable. Therefore, it is not surprising that at 23, I found myself helping my friend and his motorcycle off the pavement after he hit a car that had pulled out in front of him. We had just closed down a bar and I was riding a few feet behind him. Needless to say, the police arrived and took us both to jail. I can remember looking at him bleeding with his arm curled up realizing that what we had been doing (Drinking and driving) must be pretty serious to supersede someone needing medical attention. In any event, it was the first profound experience I had with understanding the disease of alcoholism and how it had become my life.
Shortly thereafter, I checked myself into a very renowned treatment center, joined D.R.E.A.M. which was at that time known as (Drug Research and Education Association of Mississippi), signed back up for some college classes and began the fight for my life and freedom from this disease.
Needless to say this was not an easy battle and a lot was learned along the way. The most important being there is contented sobriety and serenity to be found for all those lives that have been impacted.
D’wayne holds a BBA in healthcare management, a Master’s of Science in psychology, Certificate in Addiction Studies and is a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor (LADAC II), Certified Addictions Counselor (CADC II) both Nationally (NCAC I)and Internationally(ICADC II). He has also worked with NCADD doing teen addiction awareness training for north Mississippi youth while serving his internship at the Department of Mental Health, Region III Chemical Dependency Center.
Today, D’Wayne devotes his professional time to helping others that are struggling with chemical dependencies and works with individuals, families and employers by providing full service intervention, treatment placement and continuum of care services as well as behavioral healthcare consulting, development and training.
