WILLISBURG, Ky. (LEX 18) — A decade ago, Jason Roop couldn’t imagine that he’d be sitting here, resplendent in a blazer and slacks and talking to a reporter about his life.
Once a high school tennis star good enough to play in college, Roop’s life spiraled into a 17-year addiction.
“I was arrested 18 times. I’ve overdosed. I’ve been raided by the police and wound up in a homeless shelter,” Roop recalls without flinching. “So, when I came here to Isaiah House in October 2013, I had destroyed all self-respect, all dignity was gone, everything I owned was in a trash bag.
“What led me here was just an entire lifestyle of trying to find that one thing that could bring about self-worth and inner peace and contentment.”
But his transformation was about to begin. Roop got married the day before he completed the one-year program at Isaiah House, the drug addiction treatment and recovery center, and change was underway.
“We’ve been told typically that, in addiction, that we can only come so far or that we are a damaged product that needs fixed or that we are just a hopeless case and so I can relate to that understanding or that impression or that illusion.”
Having found his own path, Roop set out on a different journey to help others find theirs. He went on to get his Master's in divinity and last year completed his Ph.D.
Now he’s launching a program – the Trait-Based Model of Recovery – that he says cuts to the chase of ending addiction.
“When you only focus on those negatives or those character defects, you’re leaving an entire part of yourself untapped, undeveloped, and unexplored,” says Roop. “There’s an immense amount of internal strength that when we start speaking to that, when we start cultivating that, identifying that, and allowing and empowering those abilities and that worth and that strength to emerge, it changes the game.”
The program began yesterday with the first class of 12 people and Roop and his counselors hope the sky is the limit.
“We’re no longer breaking down addicts and alcoholics, we are building them up and I’m really excited about what Dr. Roop has researched,” says Isaiah House campus administrator Kasey Nunemaker.
“These traits that we have are all positive in their own way and this model is gonna really put us in touch with ourselves,” adds Isaiah House operations supervisor Jason Howard.
Roop agrees with his counselors. “I don’t want to be boastful about this, but I truthfully believe that this is going to change the game. This is revolutionary because we’re starting from strength, we are considering the whole person, and we are empowering others to experience transformation themselves.”
That’s now “Dr.” Roop, who now can’t imagine he’d be sitting anywhere else. A true Hero Among Us.
If you want to learn more about the program, you can visit their website at www.startfromstrength.org or send him an email at jgroop@startfromstrength.org.
