My Life Story by Ronny Bingham, YABAH member

My name is Ronny Bingham.  I was born in Longview, Washington on January 31st, 1989.  I grew up with just my mom and two younger sisters and a baby brother.  I am the oldest.  I have always been unique.  When I was twelve years old my mother remarried, and that's when I started to make trouble.

I remember when I was thirteen my mom and my new stepdad went out for New Years Eve.  I thought I would take my siblings for a little ride in the family mini van.  Well, I drove all over the place.  I got on the freeway and just drove around until the van was almost out of gas.  When I pulled into the driveway to our house, I slammed on the gas and drove right through the garage door.  Then I waited for my parents to get home.  I was angry that they got to go out and I had to sit at home with my sisters and brother when I had plans.  When they got home and saw what I had done to the house my mom came in screaming and crying.  My new stepdad was outraged and, not sure how to handle the situation, picked up the coffee table and threw it.  I have never been spanked, hit or slapped while growing up, so I was not really scared.

After that happened, I packed my bags and flew up to Alaska.  Growing up, I had spent every summer break in Sitka with my grandparents, so coming up to Alaska just felt more like a vacation even though I knew that it wasn't.

My mother had allowed my to come here with the idea that my grandparents would straighten me out, but only two years later, right before I turned 16, my grandfather Jesse McGraw died.  After that happened, things seemed to go downhill.

I began to drink and smoke (a lot).  I moved away from my grandmother and stayed with the person I was dating.  Finally, I began to get into big trouble.  I lost my driver's license when I was 18 because I got a DUI.  That requires jail time.  After that, I got one minor consuming right after the other until I was about to go to jail for forty days.  I told my lawyer that I could not go to jail, that wasn't where I belonged, and that I wouldn't come out the same person.  He agreed and that is when I checked into Bill Brady Healing Center.  While I was going through treatment, my grandmother brought me the application to YABAH.  I filled it out and turned it in.

By the next week I had an interview.  When I came in and met Ben Clark, YABAH's Program Manager, he seemed eager to hire me.  After I got out of rehab and went to court, everyone seemed pleased, jail time was gone, I was no longer on probation and I had this great new job.  I am really lucky to be a part of this program.  I have met a lot of awesome people and I've acheived my GED.  YABAH has opened a lot of doors for me.  I now can say that I'm going to complete the program and pursue a college education.