Meet our residents: A journey of resilience and redemption

Kenneth Arnesen (24) is a courageous individual who battled the depths of drug addiction and emerged victorious.

Arnesen celebrated one year of sobriety on February 21.

His story is not just a personal triumph but a beacon of inspiration for others on the dangerous path of addiction.
Arnesen shared his journey with the HERAUT.

He grew up in Weltevreden Park, Roodepoort, and attended the Agape Christian Primary School and then Allen Glen High School.

He had a rocky upbringing as an only child but a lot of freedom. His parents divorced when he was two.

“I was left to my own devices. It made me independent and responsible from an early age,” Arnesen said.

His mother is retired, and his father died in 2018.

“My father and I developed a close bond before his passing. We were more best friends than anything,” Arnesen said, adding that his relationship with his mother differed.

“My mother and I have always had a co-dependent relationship that was strained for many years, but we are actively working on it and trying to develop a healthy mother-son relationship,” he added.

A friend introduced Arnesen to hard drugs in 2019, but he said his addiction started with prescription medication.

“I had just started my matric year when my dad passed away. I started to abuse my prescription medication, going from doctor to doctor to get more scripts. I would use a month’s worth in a week. Eventually, I was introduced to Cat in my first year of university and switched to that because it was easier to get in the quantities I ’needed’,” Arnesen said.

He said he felt like a king with much confidence when high, “I was funny. My anxiety and depression were gone, and I could do anything. The drugs numbed me and made me carefree.

“My emotions were gone. Horrible things would happen, and I would be indifferent, including to the few good things. Nobody could say or do anything to hurt me anymore. Drugs were my shield,” Arnesen explained.

In 2021, he was employed and said he was admitted to the Freedom Recovery Centre (FRC) to try to please his employer. He completed short programmes there, got clean to please people and immediately relapsed because he was not ready to stay clean or sober.

“I hit rock bottom on many occasions, but it felt like rock bottom had underground parking because access to drugs was easy. I relapsed four times, but, eventually, with a broken heart, an empty stomach and nobody to phone, I finally decided I needed to change my life, or I would end up in a ditch somewhere,” Arnesen said.

He said that with God’s grace and FRC’s commitment to helping and not giving up on him, he was enrolled on a long-term government programme and stayed in a government halfway house. He volunteered at the FRC and became part of the skills development programmes.

“I eventually volunteered as the computer course facilitator at the FRC and am still facilitating accredited computer literacy training there. I finally feel like I belong. I am part of a team and finally have a family,” Arnesen said.

The one-year milestone still feels unreal to Arnesen, and he said it still feels like he was using just the other day.
“Hitting this milestone has proved that I can and am doing it. It marks the breakthrough in my life, finally. There is still a long road ahead and much work to do, but working at the centre and seeing people come in broken reminds me that I was like that not too long ago. It is humbling and a testament to God’s work being done at the FRC,” Arnesen added.

He is focused on his career as a software developer and is determined to achieve his goals. He has dreams of owning a house and having a wife and children.

Arnesen shared his message of resilience and redemption: “No matter how broken, how bad the situation is, how badly you messed up, never give up on yourself, even if everybody else has.

“Humble yourself, ask for help and listen. I didn’t believe it either, but let me tell you, there is hope and life without drugs.”