Ken DeCesare: In Recovery, on a Mission

Orlando, FL, April 7, 2017 (Newswire.com) - ​For him, rock bottom wasn’t dropping out of high school at 16 in Deltona, Florida, after turning to alcohol to boost his self-confidence and social skills. It wasn’t six years later either, Thanksgiving 2010, when he found himself passed out on his parents’ doorstep in an alcohol and cocaine-induced stupor, staying with them for six months to white-knuckle his way off. Then he met a girl, moved to the beach, got married and thought addiction was behind him.  But it wasn't.

Shortly after moving to the beach, the heavy drinking returned. And then so did the cocaine.
Barely back on his feet from before, his life quickly collapsed and he found himself living out of a motel in Daytona Beach, which is where he was introduced to prescription pain pills. He pawned a coin collection received from his grandfather for pennies on the dollar "just to buy for maybe a few weeks." He also stole from family to buy drugs. Yet, even that wasn’t rock bottom. 

"I want to take end-of-life computer equipment and use it to help people in recovery just like me create new lives for themselves." DeCesare says.

Ken DeCesare

In 2013, there was a marriage – a bigamist second marriage. DeCesare says he doesn't remember much, commenting only, "The truth is, I can’t tell you much because I don’t know. What I do know is that I met a woman and while we were in Kissimmee we walked from the park to the courthouse while I was high and got married.” There was the wife he remembered in Daytona Beach and the one he forgot in Kissimmee. And there were criminal charges on the way, several.

DeCesare was a mess. He had finally reached rock bottom.  And in 2014, after asking for help his case was transferred to the Orange County Adult Drug Court Program for treatment.

Now, nearly three years later and still in recovery – a daily battle he says will never end – DeCesare is trying to make a difference.

In November 2016, with the help of his former counselor from Drug Court, DeCesare founded Invest in Recovery, a not-for-profit organization that helps employers find people, like him, who are motivated to change their lives for the better. They have an office in southwest Orlando along with a presence throughout the Greater Orlando region, where they focus on developing relationships with employers & encouraging them to give second chances to people in recovery.

Now, DeCesare is starting UNWASTED Inc., a social enterprise with a single mission: Creating good jobs for people in recovery from addiction.  UNWASTED will exclusively employ recovering addicts and train them to provide e-waste recycling for private & public sector clients.

E-waste recycling is an $8.4 billion market in the U.S., and has grown 75% in the past five years.

“I want to take end-of-life computer equipment and use it to help people in recovery just like me create new lives for themselves,” DeCesare says.

Ken DeCesare has seen rock bottom and successfully dug out. He loves to share his story, hoping he can help others build brand new lives for themselves like he has, people in recovery like him. 

“I want to make an impact,” DeCesare concludes. 

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To interview Ken DeCesare and learn more about UNWASTED Inc., you can call him directly at (407) 761-4751.

Source: UNWASTED Inc.