Throughout his life, addiction stripped Ryan Bobbett of those closest to him. At first, it was his mother who passed away due to her years of addiction when he was 3. His father, however, entered recovery and eventually remarried to give Bobbett a family again, while also becoming a pastor and addiction counselor. Although Bobbett was raised in a devout Christian family, he began to feel resentful of his parents, and began rebelling when he was 13. Not understanding his own insecurity, he started to use drugs. In order to run away from home, he joined the military at age 17. At 18, he cut ties from his family, leaving a note that said he wanted to see what the world had to offer. Little did he know, the very thing he was asking for, was the thing that almost took his life.
His adult life brought on more heartache. Even at 19, when he had his first daughter, he couldn’t manage to keep any stability in his life. At 20 years old, he embarked on a life saturated with methamphetamine use. Soon after, he began to manufacture and sell the drug every day.
The drugs brought on overdoses, homelessness, arrests, and evading law enforcement. Prison soon became his life, still wrought with drugs and gang life. He hit rock bottom in prison when he realized that his daughter was going to be put in foster care because he was in prison and the daughter’s mother was addicted. He said a prayer to God to help his daughter. Shortly after that, he received a letter from his family that told him they would help him find his daughter—an answer to prayer–especially surprising since he had not heard from them for 7 years. Following in line with that blessing, his family was able to get his daughter and advised that he enter a long term recovery program at Wheeler Mission. His first night in the program he felt an overwhelming sense of peace. He felt that God was with him.
Then in December of 2014, after a walk and cry out to God, Bobbett felt that peace again. He was able to get his daughters back, even reunite with his first girlfriend (whom he is now married to), and spent a year working at a shelter as an intern caseworker telling his story. Through all of this, he had been able to minister directly to the people with whom he once shared an addictive lifestyle. It was then that he discovered his calling.
After completing his Bachelor’s in nonprofit management, he would like to work for Wheeler Mission Ministries or a similar nonprofit with plans to begin his own detox or recovery center in the future. He is currently working toward becoming a certified addiction counselor in in order to help people recover from circumstances similar to his own.
For Bobbett, attending City Vision University is a part of a full circle return home. Currently, he works at Indiana Center for Recovery as a caseworker for the Men’s program. Pursuing a degree at the university came out of his call to help the homeless and others whose situations reflected those of his past. As a married father of 2 daughters, Bobbett’s goals are set in front of him and he will continue looking ahead to accomplish them, according to his plan. May God receive all the glory for Ryan’s transformation.