Rick Wheeler
From Prison to Recovery
Mr. Wheeler is a certified LAADDAC counselor and the CEO of Recovery Now Transitional Living, overseeing houses in Roseville and Sacramento. Working in the recovery field since June 2005, he holds two A.A. degrees from American River College; Chemical Dependency and Human Resources. He was an AOD counselor for Treatment Center from 2005 to 2010. He started Recovery Now Transitional Living in August 2007. Mr. Wheeler saw a big need for structured sober living homes with a zero tolerance policy. He started one home and now has seven with a total of 51 beds available for adult men and women that want to build a strong foundation of recovery. Mr. Wheeler got into recovery due to a nudge from a Sacramento Superior Court Judge as he was facing 25 years in prison; instead he was allowed to go to Progress House for a 90-day treatment program. This was the turning point in his life. He had already served 6 prison terms and thought for sure he would end up in prison again. He has spent a total of ten years behind prison walls. Two terms were served locally; here at Folsom Prison. Fortunately, that’s not how his story ended.
Treatment worked! He was also court-ordered into transitional living for 1 year. It was while he was in the SLE that he really got to build a solid foundation for his recovery. At this time he went back to college and got his degrees; he started working at a treatment center. Mr. Wheeler has a passion for helping people in recovery who want to get their lives back and for family reunification. Mr. Wheeler is a hands-on kind of guy, as he still hosts all the house meetings every Thursday morning at Recovery Now. He checks-in with residents to ensure that they are working a program of recovery and letting them know that they are not alone. He shows residents that this is a WE program, and that we do recover! Rick is an active member of AA and attends meetings on a regular basis; he leads by example. Yes, recovery does work for the ones that work for it!
"I have been clean and sober since January 20, 2005, by the Grace of God and the program of Alcoholics Anonymous."
-Rick Wheeler