Back in 2018, we featured F5 Project and Founder Adam Martin on the cover of Fargo INC!, highlighting the organization and its efforts to give those dealing with mental health issues, addiction, and those coming out of incarceration a second chance. In our eyes, this is one of the most important missions being undertaken in our community. The people that you see struggling with criminal records and homelessness are not bad people. They have made mistakes, many as the result of decisions that started when they were as young as 10 years old, growing up in environments they had no control over

We hope this article serves as a reminder of that mission and drives others to help support people in our community who need it most.

When Adam Martin last interviewed with Fargo INC!, F5 Project had a 400 square foot office—now they have eight offices across the state of North Dakota. Back then, they had four staff. Now, they have 63.

“To me, I still feel the same about the business,” Martin said. “When you’re the CEO and you see everything happening, it’s like watching paint dry. And then one day you wake up and it’s like, ‘Oh my god, we’re not a small business anymore.'”

“I still have all of the same fears that I had when we were a new nonprofit. I worry about how we are going to make payroll because, in the beginning, I sat at my desk multiple times writing my resignation or my apology because we wouldn’t be able to make payroll. There was always something. It was almost traumatizing, always worrying about when the day would come when I would have to tell everyone I failed. Eventually, things would work out, and I would push those papers to the side and keep working.”

Despite his fears and former struggles, F5 has never missed payroll. In fact, only once over the company’s history did the leadership team elect not to take a paycheck so that everyone else could get paid.

“I don’t know how it works out, but it always does,” Martin said.

During those early years, Martin had people who had recently been released from jail sleeping on his couch.

About F5 Project

The F5 Project, established in Fargo, ND, is a pioneering nonprofit aimed at supporting individuals struggling with incarceration, mental health, and addiction with services and resources to reenter society and create meaningful change in their lives. It was founded on the principle that everyone deserves a second chance and the opportunity to rebuild their lives. The project provides a comprehensive support system, including housing, employment assistance, and access to resources for mental health and substance abuse treatment. By addressing the key barriers that often lead to recidivism, the F5 Project plays a crucial role in fostering purpose for individuals, reducing the cycle of incarceration, and positively impacting the community

“We were like chickens with our heads cut off trying to find services and trying to find resources,” Martin said.

In his line of work, Martin has seen plenty of tears—people in his office crying, depressed, and filled with anxiety.

“The focus has always been on ensuring the safety of people within our community through recovery, reentry, reform, and through making sure people get treated fairly,” he said.

“There are a lot of laws that are not fair. Criminal backgrounds can be unfair. Releasing mugshots is unfair. Bail reform is unfair. In our prisons, Native Americans account for almost 25% of the population although they only account for about 5% of the general population of North Dakota. That is unfair.”

About Adam Martin

Adam Martin, the founder of the F5 Project, is committed to supporting individuals as they navigate their journey in reentry or recovery. His own experiences with incarceration have fueled his dedication to this cause. Through the F5 Project, he has created a supportive environment that offers housing, resources, and guidance, aiming to reduce recidivism and give individuals the opportunity to refresh their lives.

“When I started doing this, I didn’t know why I was able to get clean. I just think my experience can be useful in trying to help people going through similar struggles now. I just set out to try and show them how I changed my life,” Martin said. “I was just tired of all my friends dying and going back to prison and getting out and going back to prison.”

The Issue

America has a justice system problem— that much is startlingly clear. What to do about it isn’t, but the punitive measures are not working

“Our justice system is like that piece of equipment at the gym that doesn’t work,” Martin said. “There’s a sign on it that says it doesn’t work, but nobody really pays attention to it. They don’t know why it doesn’t work. If more people paid attention to it and looked into why it doesn’t work and cared, it’d probably get fixed. It is not amazing to live in America right now if you’re looking at it from the ground level. They’re criminalizing addiction because they don’t know what to do so they’re just locking people up. F5 should not be growing, but the problem isn’t getting smaller, it’s growing. I think we need to have an overall mindset change. We need to not be so punitive.”

According to Statista Research Department, the United States has the sixth highest incarceration rate in the world. And according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, about two-thirds of released state prisoners are rearrested, and more than half are incarcerated within three years of their original arrest. For many of the incarcerated, the snowball effect does not stop there. Their offenses cause them to face future employment challenges, housing difficulties, troubles accessing loans, and perhaps most damaging, child custody issues, among other things.

A really important aspect of healing people, in Martin’s opinion, involves reuniting families.

“A really important aspect of healing people involves family reunification,” Martin said. “I have seen a lot of people change when they have the hope that they will be able to see their children again. If you want to destroy a community, take people’s children. That has been a tactic of war since the beginning of time and we’re doing it to our own people. Parents don’t naturally neglect their kids. Depression does. Anxiety does. Bipolar does. You can’t charge someone for being bipolar. However, you can charge them for the collateral consequences of being bipolar. We criminalize mental health and addiction. This is hard for people to understand because you don’t charge someone with being a meth addict, you charge them for possession of meth.”

ncarceration can significantly impact child custody issues. When a parent is incarcerated, they often lose custody of their children, and upon release, their criminal record and potential homelessness can hinder efforts to regain custody. The lack of stable housing is frequently viewed unfavorably in custody decisions, as courts prioritize the child’s safety and stability. Additionally, the financial and social challenges faced by formerly incarcerated individuals can further complicate their ability to provide a suitable living environment for their children, often prolonging or preventing the reunification of families.

“Homelessness is very traumatizing,” Martin said. “There are a lot of collateral consequences that come along with having a criminal background and being homeless. A lot of these people are suffering from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD, alcoholism, and addiction. It’s a big jigsaw puzzle when it comes to trying to help someone put their life back together. It can be crippling.”

As F5 Project continues to expand, its team continues to try and touch more and more corners of the population through their mission to, “eliminate overdoses, suicide, and crime through empowering recovery, reducing recidivism, and fighting poverty.”

New Programs on the Horizon

Native American programs

A new program will start at James River Correctional Center (JRCC) in Jamestown, ND, specifically tailored to address Native American generational trauma, recovery, and reentry. For this programming, F5 is officing in the prison and working directly with the residents at JRCC. “It’s funny because the three guys working for us in that prison shouldn’t even be able to get a job at that prison,” Martin said. “One of them actually served time in that prison.” As part of this program, they’re renovating a pod in the prison to make it more conducive to addressing trauma. The pod will include normal things you would find in a living room like couches and coffee pots.

Youth programs

F5 Project collaborates with local schools to aid students facing challenges and obstacles with the tools, guidance, and support they need to navigate the challenges of adolescence and build a strong foundation for future success. This is being led by Brody Clarke who has vast experience in youth programming. Clarke has already been working for F5 for over a year and is excited to step into youth programming full-time. “The fact that Brody came in and did adult services for a year—the work he didn’t want to do—says a lot to me about how much he cares about getting this program up and running,” Martin said. “Brody isn’t cut from the same cloth as me or some of the rest of us working at F5. I’m not sure he has ever drank a day in his life. He’s just a good guy, but he really cares and that’s why he is good at what he does. The people he works with can see that.”

Women’s program

In January, F5 opened a women’s transitional housing unit in Fargo to provide housing to women who typically face barriers in finding housing after incarceration or treatment. This is the first time F5 will have women’s housing since they discontinued their first women’s housing program in 2018. “When we cut it, I knew it was the right thing to do, but I hated that we had to do it,” Martin said. “We had to do it because the only female staff we had at the time retired and we had this house filled with women and we had all men working at F5—that’s just not appropriate and we didn’t have the money to hire someone.”

How F5 Helps

The F5 Project helps individuals by taking a holistic approach to their recovery and reintegration into society. Their programs include:

Transitional Housing

Currently, F5 has seven houses total for male participants with locations in Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, Minot, and Bismarck. They also recently opened housing for female participants in Fargo.

“There is a need for individuals to have a safe place to sleep at night in order to feel secure and encouraged in every other aspect of life. Stable housing provides improved outcomes surrounding employment, health, education, and more. At F5 Project, we provide transitional housing solutions for individuals who are in varying points in their lives. The houses at F5 Project are meant to be your home, like any other house, but complete with supportive roommates and involvement in the F5 Program. The transitional living homes of F5 Project support all pathways to recovery, such as but not limited to: 12 Step, Faith-based, Smart Recovery, Refugee Recovery, Medicated Assisted Treatment, Peer Recovery Support – you name it! F5 Project cheerleads for our participants while we assist them in identifying what pathway works for them, and supporting them along the way.” – The F5 Project Website

Employment

F5 helps equip program participants with the skills necessary to find meaningful employment once they leave the program. They also partner with area employers who frequently hire program participants.

Recovery

F5 Project’s partner organization, The Ridge: Treatment and Reentry Center, offers a variety of care programs for those struggling with addiction.

“The Ridge: Treatment and Reentry Center is a premier alcohol and drug treatment center that offers a specialized extended care program that is customized to the needs and circumstances of each individual.”

“We offer a variety of comprehensive evaluations, substance use disorder treatments, individual and group therapies, classes, and support services to help people in their recovery.”

“Our focus is to remove the common and widespread barriers to treatment and create access for all – allowing individuals to get treatment as soon as they need too.” -The F5 Project Website

Free Through Recovery

Free Through Recovery is a behavioral health initiative guided by the North Dakota Behavioral Health and Human Services. This community-focused program aims to enhance access to recovery support services for individuals engaged with the criminal justice system and grappling with behavioral health issues. F5 is a Free Through Recovery provider and the program includes:

Care Coordination
Recovery Services
Peer Support

By the Numbers

30,260 lives transformed (and counting)
560 participants seen each month across North Dakota 103 individuals housed in F5 Project houses in 2023
40+ individuals interviewed for jobs within their last 90 days of jail to secure employment before their release date.

Touched by F5 Project

In the next section of our article on the F5 Project, we turn our focus to the heart and soul of the program: its participants. These individuals, each with their own unique story, share a common thread of early encounters with mental health and addiction challenges. As we learn about their experiences, told through their voices, we hope that you can develop a deeper appreciation for their humanity

*These Q&As have been edited for clarity and conciseness

Meet Leverne - Former F5 Project Participant

Meet Leverne, a kind and well-spoken individual who is a former participant in the F5 Project. His story is one of resilience and perseverance. Leverne, a non-violent individual with a steady employment history, has successfully stayed out of prison for the past 13 years. His journey, though marked by past struggles with addiction and law enforcement, shows the power of determination and recovery. In our Q&A, Leverne shares his experiences and the wisdom he’s gained along the way. He truly emodies his inspiring motto: “If you fall, you’re not a failure. Get back up and try it again.”

Q: What is your story? Where are you from?

A: I was born in Arkansas, but a lot of times I just say St. Louis because my first memories are really from living in St. Louis. Eventually, all of us, my parents and my seven brothers and three sisters, relocated to Minneapolis in 1976. I would have been 20, getting ready to turn 21 at that time… It was a good move coming out of St. Louis because the southside of St. Louis at that time was one of the most ghetto areas in the country. Coming to Minneapolis was like giving a kid candy for the first time. Everything was clean and it was really relaxing.

From there, I spent 12 years with a girl from Sioux City, IA, and had three children. When we separated, I moved to Omaha and stayed there for a while.

I was 32 years old before I ever went to prison—that was in Iowa. I got out and I don’t want to say I gave up, but I had different ideas of what might work. I wasn’t addressing any of my addiction issues back then.

Q: So, were you dealing with addiction leading up to that arrest at the age of 32?

A: Yes, that is correct

Q: How long have you been dealing with that?

A: Probably 16 years because I was 15 or 16 when I got my first job at St. Louis University. I would get out of school and go to work with my cousin who worked there. I was a dishwasher, but I worked in the cafeteria where the priests were, not where the students were. There was alcohol everywhere. So, at the end of our shift, we would take the trash out and take beer home with us. Then, we would walk and drink all the way home. That was my first introduction to alcohol. From there, marijuana crept in. I won’t say things were controllable back then, but I never got in trouble because of the marijuana or the beer at that time.

My dad’s rule when we were growing up was if you didn’t work or go to school, you couldn’t stay at the house, which was understandable. He used to do things like take us to Forest Park when I was 13 or 14 years old. He would take us there and leave us while he went to take classes at the school that was nearby. He would do that for a couple of hours in the evening and give all of us boys a section of the newspaper and when he would get back from class, he would ask us what we read. Even if you got the comics, you had to tell him what you read. That was a good practice because we all really learned how to read and write.

Once he got out of school, he started driving a truck. And not having him around all of the time with Mom gave us a little more freedom to get a little wilder.

By the time I got to Iowa, I think control was gone. I would keep some type of a job, but the control was gone. I’ve been to prison five times—twice in Iowa, twice in Nebraska, and once in Minnesota.

While I was in prison in 2001, my father passed away. Because my family was in Minnesota, I wasn’t able to make the funeral. If they were in Iowa, I would’ve been able to go. I continued to just dwell on that, but I decided that I was going to move back home to Minnesota.

I ended up going to prison again in Minnesota, but when I got out, I moved to Fargo—that was in 2012 and I’ve been here ever since then. I took a job doing construction.

My mom lived until 2019 and I was able to get back with all of my siblings, except for one that had passed away, to see her. She was really happy that we all got together in the same place. Four days later, she passed away. I also decided during that time that I was going to go to treatment. I did that and ended up getting 20 months of sobriety.

Then, COVID hit. I was working pretty well, but my boss ended up shutting things down. At that time, you had the COVID relief money on top of unemployment. I moved in with what I called a friend at the time and relapsed after 20 months of sobriety

Meth was my drug of choice and I ended up getting caught up again. In April of 2021, I went back to treatment, got out, and got another good job. I worked that job and got a promotion to supervisor and then I filled in for the truck driving job they needed on the weekends. I stayed there for a little over a year and ended up being the general manager. It wasn’t a hard job, but it was very stressful… I was at 14 months of sobriety and I relapsed again. This time, my relapse did not last as long as it had when I lost my 20 months of sobriety

I ended up getting in touch with F5, lived in their housing, and did their treatment program. F5 is probably the best self-help that I’ve ever reached out for. The first two times I went through treatment, the programs basically involved detoxing and taking some classes. They throw some books at you and different tools… What I really enjoyed about F5 was the people. You got the same tools, but you really had the time and the opportunity to read and learn.

I recognized that most of my problems came from setting boundaries. In the past, I had moved in with friends who were using. You can’t take an alcoholic and move him across the street from a liquor store because there are no obstacles. It’s the same thing for a heroin or meth user. It’s a bad move to move in with a friend that is using.

But, the best thing I got out of this stint in treatment was structure. If you don’t have a plan and if you don’t structure things, you’re going to set yourself up for failure. The treatment was only 3 months, but I stayed in F5 housing for 11 months.

Once I moved, I went through a program called the Thrive Program. During those 11 months, I built my credit score up and built my bank account up. Then, through the Thrive program, I ended up getting an apartment with Goldmark. For a felon, that’s a hard place to get in, but they accepted me because my credit score was up to 715.

The only thing that has changed since I moved out is my address. I still do everything that I did when I was in F5 housing. I don’t have any reason to go outside after 9 p.m. I go to my meetings—one of them I’ve never missed since October of 2022. When I started at F5, I rode the bus through every snowstorm. If not, one of them would come pick me up. When it quit snowing, I bought a bike. Eventually, I bought a car

My sobriety date now is September 12, 2022.

I caught on because I paid attention this time. I got 20 months of sobriety the one time I went through treatment because I was working hard, but I had all the same friends and if you don’t change your playmates and playground, you’re just waiting for an accident to happen. The last time when I relapsed was because I got stressed out. Staying out of stress is a key for me and so is keeping my boundaries set. I really just try to continue to live under structure.

One thing I really enjoy and respect about F5 is that they will try to help you in any way and they will give you things for you to help yourself. They don’t turn their back on anybody. They don’t give up on people. If you really put your foot forward with them, they’ll do almost anything for you.

When I lost my toes in April of 2016 due to complications from diabetes, I knew I needed to make a change. I probably could have saved it if I wasn’t out there running around doing drugs and drinking. That was the first time I focused and tried to get things together.

Now, my AIC is under seven and it’s been under seven for almost over a year.

Q: If you don’t mind me asking, what got you in prison those five times?

A: The first two times were delivery of cocaine. One was for possession of cocaine. Then, two of them were for thefts—not burglary; they were for shoplifting.

The possession of cocaine charges landed me with 10 years for each one of my possessions. I ended up doing seven years before I got out. I did maybe a year in Minnesota for one of the shoplifting charges and I did nine months for the other.

Every time I was in, I was able to get a good job in prison, save money, and get out and get my own place.

In North Dakota, I have had a couple of possession of meth instances, but North Dakota is the only state I have lived in, other than Missouri, where I haven’t gone to prison.

The State of North Dakota was never really concerned about smacking me upside the head for my past. They were always more concerned about what I was going to do going forward. I think now it’s more about rehabilitation than it is about incarceration. Before it was always about punishment, not helping. In Fargo, guys have a lot of opportunities to get out and do programs.

Meet Sarah - Former F5 Project Participant and Current F5 Employee

Introduced to drugs and alcohol at the age of 10, Sarah has persevered through alcoholism and mental illness. Now, she is a care coordinator at F5 Project and she dedicates her life to assisting others who face challenges similar to what she endured.

Q: What is your story?

A: I was first introduced to drugs and alcohol when I was around 10 years old. They were a part of my life for the majority of my life. Throughout parts of my life, I just considered it that typical teenage and early 20s phase.

I couldn’t really tell you when it changed from something everyone goes through into being an addiction, but at some point, it crossed that line. It was no longer that run-of-the-mill drinking and partying.

Q: Were you aware of that?

A: I think somewhere inside of me I knew it was, but I wasn’t ready to admit to that. I blamed it on everyone and everything else. I drank because I was going through this or that.

Along with drug and alcohol use, I had a lot of mental health struggles. They kind of worked together and fought against each other. I’d be going through a really bad depressive state so I’d drink. I’d be coming out of a really bad depressive stage so I’d drink. I didn’t want to cope with what I was feeling so I’d drink. They worked hand in hand and not in a good way.

Things started getting really bad in 2019. That was the first time I was put in a psychiatric unit in a hospital from an overdose. I was in there in May of 2019. I was back there in November of 2019. I was in and out of ICUs a couple of times

March 27, 2021 was the last time I ended up in an ICU and it was the last time I would drink. I don’t remember a lot of what happened. I was at a work Christmas party for the place I worked at the time and we were on a party bus and were having fun and that’s the last thing I remember.

I woke up roughly a week later in Sanford ICU and didn’t know what was going on or how I got there. It wasn’t until I got my phone back that I started piecing things together. That was the moment that really scared me into realizing that I needed to change something because if I repeated the same cycle it was going to kill me.

I had no clue where to start. I was 39 years old and I had tried psychiatrists and therapists—I wanted nothing to do with them at the time because in my mind they were just people with degrees who were trying to control my life and tell me what to do. They didn’t understand me, they didn’t know what to do, they just knew what they learned in a textbook. [I thought that] even if they had their own experience. My mind couldn’t comprehend it.

At Sanford, probably a day or two after I remembered being awake, I had two individuals come into my room who were from F5. I had never heard of F5 and I had no clue who they were or what they did. But, at the time, they had a partnership with Sanford and in instances of overdoses and things like that, they would come in and talk with people and see if they wanted help or support or whatever.

They started talking to me like I was human. They didn’t talk to me like I was an alcoholic who woke up after being unconscious for a week after an overdose. They told me about themselves. They had their own stories and some of theirs were similar to mine and others weren’t, but it was the first time I really felt understood. They didn’t pressure me into anything. They just explained what they did and said they would reach out to me in a couple of weeks if I wanted them to.

The day I got out of the hospital, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t feel ready to be home, but the doctor said I was ready. I was scared. I was alone. But I remembered these two individuals and I found the F5 Facebook page and reached out to them and told them I didn’t know what to do. Someone reached out to me and messaged me for a couple of hours. Then, a couple of days later, someone from the office reached out to me to check on me. From there, I started building a relationship with them before I was even a participant with them.

In mid-April 2021, I became a participant with them. Every person I interacted with I had the same feelings of love, support, not being judged, and just genuine care and concern.

I met with my care coordinator every week from April of 2021 to sometime around September of 2022. We talked about life. It was my safe space to vent all my bullshit. It didn’t matter what was going on in my life. That was my place to let it all out without the worry of judgment and feeling like someone was looking down on me. I was never told what to do. They just listened—there were maybe a couple of suggestions, but it was always based on what I wanted. They helped me create a plan.

In January of last year, I started working for them. Now, I get to take that experience I had and now I get to apply it to helping others in the same way I was helped.

Q: If we can go back, you said you were exposed to drugs and alcohol around the age of 10— how did that happen?

A: My parents had just gotten divorced. My mom moved out and some of the friends I started making were a little older—one of them brought a bottle of liquor and we tried it. Other times, someone would find some cigarettes and we would try them. Someone would find some marijuana.

I was an only child so I always wanted to be accepted by whoever I was around. Nobody forced me into doing anything, but I didn’t want to be the person not doing the things everyone else was doing. I wanted friends. So I tried what everyone else was trying.

I don’t remember what I felt when I tried things at that age. All I remember is it didn’t feel bad enough to deter me from wanting to do it again.

Q: How often were you using these various substances back then?

A: It was maybe once a month or once every couple of months. It would be a beer here, a couple of sips of a drink here, smoking a joint with four or five other people. It wasn’t anything I would really consider crazy

By the time I hit 14 or 15, it was turning into partying every weekend. By 16, it was every weekend and occasionally during the week. I jus

At 21, it was the only time I did the only official alcohol treatment I’ve ever done. I still wouldn’t admit that I had a problem. I would just tell people that I needed a break. I went into inpatient treatment and I completed outpatient treatment and then I found out I was pregnant with my son. So, I figured I was good. I wouldn’t do anything because I was pregnant. I quit doing any kind of treatment and quit doing meetings so I could just focus on my pregnancy

Then, after my son was born, within roughly a week, I was back at the bar.

Q: What do you like about working at F5?

A: I love that I get to work with people who are going through a lot of the things that I went through early in my recovery and I can identify with them, which helps build that trust. I’m not just somebody reading something out of a textbook. I’m somebody who has been through this and lived it. Recovery is possible. You don’t have to be stuck in the cycle. It takes a little work, but you can come out of it and I get to show them that by being who I am today.

Q: What advice would you give to someone who wants to stop their substance abuse?

A: I would just remind them that they’re not alone, that they matter, and that there are people out there that will give a shit and help you and support you and love you unconditionally. I would tell them, just please reach out—if not to F5, to any of the amazing organizations in the area that offer the same services.

Q: What makes F5 different? What do they do that works?

A: So many people working there have their own lived experiences. Lived experience goes such a long way. In the beginning, if I didn’t have people who could identify with me through their own lived experiences, I don’t know if I would be where I am today

Having them talk to me like I was just a person who was going through some shit made me feel like I was okay like there was light at the end of the tunnel. Having that is so huge because when you’re going through it yourself, it’s really easy to convince yourself that nobody else is going through it—that you’re alone. That’s a huge strength of F5—that we have our own experiences.

We’re a family, which is huge. Your support doesn’t end with your care coordinator. You have an entire building you can reach out to that maybe others don’t know about. It’s the entire staff across the state that is there for you.

Q: What advice would you give to employers out there to make sure they’re supporting people who may be going through struggles?

A: A person is not their diagnosis. A person is not their addiction. A person is not their mental health. Look beyond that and support them to get through it, but remember that they’re a person. Don’t turn your back on them.

Meet Cody - Former F5 Project Participant

Growing up in an environment where drug use was pervasive, Cody’s first encounter with drugs came at just 11 years old. His life since then has been a continuous battle with addiction, a struggle that many find hard to break free from. However, with the help of F5 Project, Cody has found sobriety, has been able to maintain stable employment, and has reconnected with his seven-year-old son.

Q: What’s your story, Cody?

A: I’m originally from Minneapolis. I lived there pretty much all my life until about 2012. Growing up in that area, things got rough. We got into the party scene and whatnot and drugs and all that. There was one thing after another and then trouble started happening

Eventually, I started to figure out what I was doing and started doing treatments and whatnot

In 2012, I met this guy and he told me there was work in North Dakota and we just kind of made our way out this way.

I’ve been just trying to change up my life. I’ve seen a lot of death and it has hit me kind of hard. I’ve lost a lot of family so I’ve just been trying to switch it up.

Q: So, drug use was pretty prevalent?

A: Yeah, they were pretty easy to find. It was right outside my door where I grew up. I didn’t have to do much to get it. I saw it destroy a lot of lives.

Q: Was it pretty prevalent in your family?

A: Yeah. Sadly, it claimed my brother when I was 24 and he was 25. That hit me pretty hard. Three of my closest friends also died from overdoses. We were all using heroin, but I cut it off because I had seen too many people die from it.

But, I just switched up to alcohol because I thought it would end up better for me. I had been a drinker previously, but after cutting the other stuff out, I leaned on it really hard. That didn’t make things any better for me.

It was a pretty crazy teen lifestyle I was living.

Q: What age were you when you started?

A: The first time I started using really was about 11.

Q: Why do you think it was so prevalent where you are from?

A: For me, it was about communication. I like communicating with people. I feel like I’m a really friendly person. Through it, I was able to meet so many people and bring so many people together—for all the wrong reasons, but I felt like I made so many friends. I had hundreds of people at my house. I felt like that was the main spot to hang out and that that was the best way to make friends and connect with people.

Q: So you came to Fargo in about 2012?

A: Yeah, I was in treatment previous to that when I was 20 and it didn’t really work for me. I made it about seven months through the year-long program and then I let temptation take me away. When I moved out here, I was 21. I met a guy in the shelter that I was living at and he told me there were jobs out here. I was hearing about the oil boom and our goal was to go out to western North Dakota, but we just stopped in Fargo and started to create a life here.

Q: What was life like here?

A: I didn’t come in smoothly. I came in with like $19 on an EBT card at 21 years old. I didn’t know what I was doing. I just got straight to work. I got hired with John Deere through a temp service and that was good. I was thinking about trying to get hired on with them full-time, but then I found myself back in the party life and that’s where the trouble started again.

Not too long after that, I was caught up in a robbery with aggravated assault and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. I had to sit time from August 2012 to October 2014.

During that time, I found out my brother passed away. That was hard to hear.

Once I got released, I stayed good for a while, but then I started drinking again. I didn’t want anything to do with the drugs, but drinking was my go-to. I found out real quick that this was a party city. I just fit right in.

And eventually, the drugs were back in the picture. I would do them off and on. Eventually, I would find myself doing whatever was in front of me really.

I would say my go-to is alcohol, but in reality, it’s everything. I’m an addict.

If I can get the message out there that you don’t have to live in addiction, I consider that a win.

I’ve been blessed with a son who’s seven years old and I’m blessed to be in his life now. He’s happy and we get to see each other on a regular basis.

He’s a character. He’s like a little cartoon. He’s dramatic. He’ll have you dying laughing and he’s a storyteller. He’s just a little model child and he knows it. He can get you to fall in love with him in two seconds and he knows it.

Q: Was there more trouble that followed that?

A: Yes. I stayed good for a couple of years and then I caught a DUI while I was out partying

I found myself back in the system and it kind of seems like once you are in it, you are kind of stuck. You have to jump through so many hoops to get out and before you do, something can slip or something can happen. In my particular situation, personal family situations came up, which led to stress, which led to breakups, which led to fighting, which led to more drinking, and a second and third DUI.

Over four or five years, I was just on a repeat cycle doing the same thing. That’s insanity right, trying to change something by doing the same thing. I was just telling myself I could do it.

That’s the cycle that led me to F5 in 2019. I’ve been grateful to have them behind my back this whole time since then. Adam has been there for me even though he has seen me fall down and give up. Lenard has been part of the program since the beginning. All of their staff and peer support have had my back since I first met them.

Q: What have they done for you?

A: In 2019, I was in their program for about a year with a few slipups and whatnot, but thankfully they worked with me and I got things back on track. They eventually helped me get an apartment and I moved into a place on my own in 2020 and started living my life again

But then, I slowly was letting myself drink again. That’s when I caught my third DUI and I went right back into the legal cycle. I was able to get myself going again and I ended up meeting this girl in 2021—she had three kids and we all got really close. They hit me in such a way that I wanted to change, and I ended up getting sober for them and I stayed sober for over a year. But during that time, she was dealing with sickness and it kept getting worse and worse— we eventually found out she had cancer and she passed away last year. That just tore me up.

I just went off the wall and ended up doing everything. I ended up homeless and staying in the shelter. I just didn’t give a fuck. I lost everything and it destroyed my life. I just didn’t really care. I was using any drug I could find trying to mask those feelings and bury them. Thankfully, I did manage to get myself in treatment and clean myself up with ShareHouse. But things took a turn for the worse when I completed the program because I was asked to leave because I was done with the program, but I didn’t have anywhere to go. So, I decided to live in my car.

I was trying to figure things out. It was the middle of January and all of those crazy snowstorms were happening. I was just pissed off and lost. I did everything I needed to do and I got kicked to the curb.

I started drinking again. I wasn’t driving, but I had the car running and I was caught for my fourth DUI because they found me sleeping in it. That was last January. I had to sit four months in jail for that.

I had kind of given up at that time, and that’s when F5 came to see me in jail. They told me they were there to help me figure things out and help me get back on my feet. They came to see me almost every week and set me up with good peer support. Once I was released, I just kept on working with them.

Eventually, they told me they had a bed open at one of their houses and I moved from a center to one of their houses.

Q: How long did you work with them?

A: I was in their program for about four, or five months. I was just trying to work on myself and my son was involved with Child Protective Services. I had more freedom to do the things that CPS was asking for to get my son. So, I’m grateful for F5 for that.

It has been great to get myself back to feeling normal and working good. I can just go to work and make some money and save it. I started working on getting my license again and can now legally drive again.

Eventually, I completed F5 and was able to move into my own place.

Q: And you’ve been able to stay clean since then?

A: Yes, I’ve been able to stay sober since January 7 of last year.

It has been great to be sober and see my son. He needs me now and I want to put things behind me and just bring positivity for him

Q: What was it like working with F5?

A: It was empowering. They gave me the motivation and the help I needed. The peer supports know the lifestyle. They know people who struggle like myself and I could really connect with the ones I work with. I can be open with them about the things I’ve been through and know that they are there to help me regardless of the mistakes that I have made.

I know I can come to them even though I know I’ve used my fair share of forgive mes and I’m sorry. I feel like, honestly, with everything I’ve done, I didn’t deserve another chance. I’ve been doing stupid stuff left and right, but they gave me that chance. They’re here and have been there to help me figure things out.

They help you find things that will get you on your feet to survive. For me, a big thing is just having a connection with people I can be real with and open up to because that’s hard for me. I just don’t open up to people.

Q: Is there anything else you want to say for the article?

A: Yeah, during this time, I’ve been going back to my spiritual side and just praying to God. I believe he has made all of this possible. I just want people to know that he is real because he has done some things in this last year that have just been impossible. I don’t know how they have happened, but it has just seemed to just flow. I’ve been able to do things now that I wasn’t able to do before. I’ve been blessed.

F5 Project

From Leverne’s journey of steady employment and personal growth to Sarah’s transition from a life marred by mental illness and addiction to a role where she now guides others, and Cody’s path from a challenging environment to reconnecting with his son and pursuing his ambitions—each story highlights the profound impact of support, understanding, and second chances. F5’s mission, passionately led by Adam Martin and his team, isn’t just about reducing recidivism or aiding recovery; it’s about rekindling hope and rebuilding lives.