Key to one man’s addiction recovery: finding community

Darnell Cox started using marijuana and alcohol around the age of 12. By 20 he had been introduced to hard drugs. His uncle had been released from prison, and Cox started spending time with him and his friends. That’s how he became addicted to methamphetamine.

Cox is one of many Americans whose entire family systems are affected by substance use disorder. One in 4 U.S. children lived with at least one parent or caretaker with substance use disorder in 2023, according to research from the National Institute of Health.

In 2020, Cox had found recovery, but it was fragile. He was two years sober, working for the first time in construction. He and his family had created distance from unhealthy people and behaviors.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It was an isolating time for everyone, and substance use disorders surged. Cox started using again and quickly spiraled.

“I was living in my car, fully prepared to go back to prison when they caught me using meth again,” he said. “I couldn’t stop until I was in jail. When I was in jail, I was away from it, I could come down. That’s how jails and prisons almost became a reset for me.”

When he was caught, the judge gave him another chance, and that’s when he found Minnesota Recovery Connection, based in St. Paul. Now, he is the director of operations there.

The key to his recovery? “The difference between this time and the last is actually finding that connection and finding that place where I belong,” he said.

“I reset many times. The big part of it was I never realized, until the last time, that after I reset I needed to do something different,” he said.

People recovering from addiction need support and community as they walk their roads to healing.

A student in Plymouth, who asked for anonymity because of the stigma surrounding substance use disorder, struggled with addiction at his large suburban high school.

Vaping was his gateway to addiction. He was 13 years old and influenced by peers at his high school. It escalated from there. He struggled for years and was not able to find the support he needed within the school’s community.

“There was no real safe space, because I felt whatever I told them they were gonna tell other people. It was hard to quit when all they would do is take you to the office and get you in trouble and make you do some program, but that’s not really helping students,” he said.

“Just the conversations and experiences I had in my private school really changed the way I was viewing the things I did. I felt I could have real talks with the teachers and not be judged, cause they weren’t perfect people either, but they made me feel seen,” he said.

Chemical health and recovery specialists are important leaders to have in schools today, says Cynthia Munguia, executive director at Minnesota Recovery Connection. Munguia and the Plymouth student agree: These specialists positively affect the community to be a more safe and accepting place, so students have someone they can speak to without fear of getting in trouble.

“Absolutely develop support programs for students, collegiate programs for substance use disorders or recovery-oriented programs providing understanding and education,” said Munguia.

“I think [schools] should lead with programs; you keep taking away a kid’s vape then he’s just gonna get a new one. Actually tackle the issue; they can actually give kids the help they need to quit,” the Plymouth student said. He stressed the importance of focusing on why young people are using.

Cox, Munguia and the Plymouth student agree that a strong, supportive community is absolutely essential to a successful recovery. It can affect whether an individual starts using substances or not and it can affect whether they are able to stop and sustain recovery or not.

“I would really love our young generation to know that they’re not alone,” she said. “They’re not the first ones or the last. It’s wonderful to be able to reach out to someone, especially when you’re feeling alone, that you know there’s one person who can listen to your story and help you.”

Additional reporting by Smit Bhardwaj and Alaia Scroggins (Wayzata High School).