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James Boone, Executive Director of Asheville Recovery Center.

by Johnnie Grant

James Boone’s life hasn’t been what his parents expected. Raised in a suburban Long Island, New York home with two supportive professional parents, James was surrounded by lots of love from close relatives and friends. He and his siblings were all academically gifted, excelled in school, and engaged in the arts.

Growing up, James developed a passion for cooking, and he could always be found in the kitchen preparing exotic food dishes for his family and friends. As a result, he was allowed to attend cooking school while in high school, and he became a Certified Professional Chef by the age of 18.

Coming of age
during the “Desert Storm Era,” James, like many of his friends,
enlisted in the military, and set off to fulfill his patriotic duties
in the deserts of Saudi Arabia. While in the military James excelled;
he received letters of commendation for performing above and beyond the
call of duty. He outscored his fellow comrades in his division on skill
qualification tests.
After leaving the military James perused his passion for the culinary
arts, finding jobs as a chef at various high-end Italian restaurants,
five-star hotels, and country clubs. He became one of the more
sought-after chefs between New York and North Carolina.

“I did
very well in the culinary industry, and was (and still am) very skilled
in the profession. However, my addictions of drinking and drug use
became more important to me than the passions of my profession. I went
through a period of maybe twenty-years were I got involved in drinking,
and in the grips of cocaine (crack) use. My addiction to alcohol and
drugs was a revolving door that kept me in and out of treatment
facilities, jails, relationships, and traveling from state to state. It
finally got to a point that if I didn’t do something differently, I
would die in the streets,” he says.

Two of
his siblings moved to Charlotte in pursuit of professional careers and
lifestyles, and James decided to follow them there. James landed a
great position in the culinary industry, but soon his family members
became overwhelmed by his persistent, on-going drug use.

“My
brother heard about the V.A. hospital (in Asheville) and purchased a
one-way bus ticket for me, telling me I was on my own. I arrived in
Asheville penniless and slept on park benches at night, finally landing
a room at a homeless mission. During the day I sat at Prichard Park
reassessing my life. I contacted the V.A. Medical Center and was
admitted to their 28-day drug recovery program. I attended an
additional 12-step program that I didn’t take very seriously, but I
managed to stay clean.

Finally,
I got an apartment, was able to maintain a job and purchase a vehicle.
After not practicing the steps of the 12-step program, I relapsed, and
began using cocaine again. This, after a year of being clean. I checked
back into the V.A. Center for drug treatment, and it took a week to get
the cocaine completely out of my system. The results of this dead-end
lifestyle gave me the courage and strength I needed — it was stay clean
or die,” recounted James.

“There
came a point in time when I was able to transition to an advanced
treatment facility with more emphases on independent living. I had to
work, so I was employed as a salad prep person – a very humbling
experience for a Master Chef. But at that point in my life,” he says,
“I was willing to do what it took to maintain a sober lifestyle. It was
about me staying clean.”

A good
friend contacted James, and they decided to open several recovery
centers where people could come, feel at home, have a nice place to
stay, and recover from their drug and alcohol additions with dignity.

“We take
the clients’ personal needs into account, and they see me as another
recovering addict and someone trying to help them. At times, some
recovery facilities treat you worse than you’ve treated yourselves —
and that’s defeating the purpose,” said James.

Since
operating the first of these facilities successfully, James aspires to
open a larger facility where he can take clients from the streets to
treatment, from treatment to lifestyle transitions, to transitional
housing, and on to independent living.

“None of
this will happen overnight,” Boone acknowledges, “but I want my clients
to know they can take the time needed to get their lives back in order.
I want them to feel they’re not being rushed through a “get-well”
factory where someone tells them your time is up and you have to go
whether you’re ready to go or not.”

James
Boone is a 3rd degree Master Mason, member of the Homeless Coalition,
member of the Homeless Veteran Program, and board member of the
Recovery House Sober Living Committee. To contact him as Director of
Asheville Recovery Center, phone him at (828) 216-6927.