BRIDGEPORT POST + FAIRFIELD MINUTEMAN

Brian T was born and raised in the affluent town of Fairfield, the third son in a close extended family. Even though his parents were divorced when he was five, both parents remained active in his upbringing and set examples of how to live a full and successful life. An outstanding student through junior high school, Brian began to have grade and attendance difficulties during his eighth-grade year, associating with friends who experimented with drugs and believing they could escape their devastating effects.

By his freshman year in high school, Brian had tried alcohol and marijuana. It quickly spiraled and by his junior year of high school, he was addicted to heroin and opioids. By age 21, after six failed attempts to become drug free in treatment programs spanning the country, he was incarcerated twice, had fathered a son, and had little or no future.

From this seemingly hopeless life position, he took one step at a time, earning a GED, continuing his education at Housatonic Community College, to Southern Connecticut State University, subsequently graduating summa cum laude from Sacred Heart University with a degree in media studies in 2005. He was cited as a National Merit Scholar and became the assistant to the Professor of the Media Department, earning the Outstanding Student Achievement Award, the Gold Medal of Excellence, in his department during his Senior year. At age 28, he gained custody of his 6-year-old son and is living in Bridgeport.

Brian began his professional career by directing and producing a documentary film about addiction, returning to Liberation House in Stamford, Connecticut, where he finally “got it”. He leads a recovery group there to this day. Brian has been a frequent speaker in public forums, visiting high schools in the northeast to tell his compelling story. Although his story is a typical one, he delivers it without the “preachy” tone so frequently rejected by young people. His message is simple: if drugs could ruin his life, no one who uses drugs is safe. The results are always disastrous.

Brian’s story is one of hard-won successes learned over his seven year struggle. A charismatic speaker, he has made a difference in the lives of countless young people and continues to use his many gifts to lift those who struggle with the same issues and lead them to a new path of understanding and help.