By Matt V.
Ed Becker grew up in Bayshore, Long Island and says drugs were easy to find. He got started doing drugs at age 11 because of peer pressure, but his use quickly became a bad habit; the habit continued for 17 years.
Becker said school wasn’t easy for him. He wasn’t able to pay attention or sit still in class. He didn’t finish school his first try. He went to Brentwood High and quit during his junior year. 15 years later, in 1995, shortly after he began his recovery, he went back to Brentwood and received a GED. A year later he went on to college where he completed the Pro Chef program.
Becker grew up in an alcoholic family. He had four siblings that drank, which he said gave him an excuse to use. He said, “The difference was, I had to have it; they did it more as a social activity.” He always loved his family, but while he was using, he didn’t appreciate them.
Becker moved in and out of his parent’s house several times, moving at first to North Carolina for a month where he quickly managed to find drugs. He then moved to Illinois, but his addiction followed him. The same thing happened when he moved to Nevada.
In 1992, his brother John caught him getting high. He said his family knew about his use, yet they never saw him using. The incident led him to “Apple,” a community now known as Phoenix House. He spent two years there and has been sober ever since.
Becker got into recovery with the help of the 12 Steps, a firm spiritual connection, and working at The Family Foundation School. ” I need to give it away to keep it, you know,” he said.
Before FFS, Becker worked at the Villa Roma Resort in Callicoon. He never applied for a job here. “My son was a student at FFS. At a parent counseling group, Bob and Susan Runge asked me if I wanted a job… I told them I’d pray about it.” Shortly after, in December 1998, he started work.
He said God has been a big influence helping him stay at FFS. His favorite part of the job is working with the kids in the kitchen because “a lot of stuff happens in the kitchen. You can see how the kids change.”
Becker says the past 17 years of his life have been the best he has ever had.
