09-17-2023 GAR - Flipbook - Page 20
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A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Sunday, September 17, 2023
care because they don’t have the resources.
I raised a lot of money utilizing the platform
I had before my addiction in order to
provide scholarships to any man in need
who’s completed a treatment program and
wants to continue their journey of recovery
in a sober house. I refuse to let finances
stand in someone’s way of getting sober,”
he says. Earlier this year, he co-founded
Redemption Addiction Treatment, which
provides partial hospitalization, intensive
outpatient and outpatient programs,
and became a Certified Intervention
Professional to help people who are
struggling to get their addicted loved ones
into treatment.
“Addiction is the only disease in the
world that I know of that if you treat the
disease, you come back a better person
than before you were diagnosed. I hope
that when people hear my story, they can
say, ‘Well, if Brandon Novak can get sober,
anyone can,’” he says.
Novak speaks regularly about his
experiences and was recently recognized
by the DEA’s 360 Strategy Program for
his work in helping to battle the opioid
epidemic in America. “It’s funny … I was
expelled in 11th grade as a result of my
addiction, got my GED in prison and
now universities invite me to speak to
their students.” He says that his books
– Dreamseller, the graphic novel The
Brandon Novak Chronicles and The Streets
of Baltimore – are popular in treatment
centers and jails; however, “I’ve also had
soccer moms who have shared how my
story helped their son in treatment.”
He also has a documentary in the works,
which began when he was still an addict.
“The producers followed me around
when I was homeless, and they had a
secret meeting discussing how to end the
documentary after my death because they
assumed that would be the ending, but
instead I defied all odds and got sober.”
While he understands the hopeless
feeling people have about the drug crisis in
America, he also gets visibly frustrated at
that negative outlook.
“People look at the drug crisis as an
unwinnable battle but tell that to my
mother or the 65 men living in my sober
houses. As a direct result of my sobriety
today, there is one less needle to be found
in your kids’ playground,” he says.
When looking back at his sobriety
journey, Novak says that “the first thing
that worked for me was joining a 12step program, getting a sponsor, going to
treatment and going to a sober living house.
I finally did the full continuum of care and
realized that I did not know everything. As
I look back, I underestimated my opponent
in the boxing ring – addiction. The moment
I accepted the ultimate defeat, I secured the
ultimate victory – sobriety.
For more information
on Novak’s House or
Redemption Addiction Treatment,
visit brandonnovak.com.
You can also contribute to
Brandon Novak’s scholarship
fund to help men afford to stay
at Novak’s House via
Venmo @novakshouse.
If you or a loved one
are suffering with
addiction, you can
call or text
Brandon directly
at 610-314-6747.
