Some people thought he was crazy. Gang members on Chicago’s west side thought he was crazily courageous.
Columbus resident Brian Kendrick figures God was protecting him whenever someone pointed a gun at him on the streets of the Windy City — and he would summon a zoned-out bravado amid his latest high to grab the weapon’s barrel and place it in his mouth.
And then dare the gunman to pull the trigger.
“I tell people just enough of my past to let them know I am qualified to speak about addiction,” he said, sitting in a local coffee shop and speaking in soft, low-key tones slightly different than his more charismatic approach in public messages before groups.
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The 38-year-old Hoosier native, three years clean from 20 years of addiction, will take aim at the scourge of opioids and other substances as the main speaker at a free gathering called Moving Forward on Sept. 30 at the Donner Park shelter house near 19th and Lafayette streets. The free event will feature a walk at 6 p.m. and a 7 p.m. rally and concert with local band Bartholomew as part of national Recovery Month.
He is an outreach coordinator for Chapel Hill Medical Detox in West Palm Beach, Florida. He also is a nationally certified recovery coach, a nationally certified life coach and a nationally certified interventionist.
His work in all those arenas, plus his own Inspired Ministries, means that his cell phone rings literally every 10 minutes or more during an hour-long chat. His Brian Kendrick Live Facebook feed amasses more than 30 instant messages that afternoon alone from people seeking light and hope amid addiction’s darkness. The man who arises every day by 5 a.m. or earlier acknowledged that the fact that he is surrounded by a team of people is the only way he can adequately reach the struggling.
And sometimes those who are struggling can be understandably skeptical of a guy who was jobless, homeless (sleeping on a cardboard box), nearly toothless, and seemingly hopeless three years ago. Plus, he overdosed four times in seven years.
“I was begging for change (in Chicago) for my next bag of heroin,” he said.
He got his change. Massive change.
What does he tell those who don’t readily believe his dope-to-hope message?
“Point blank, I tell them if they don’t believe in change, then they don’t believe in me,” he said. “I am walking, living proof.”
And there he is, standing right in front of them. He said that God has called him to Columbus, where he recently married wife Samantha, four years clean herself, to join with others in reaching out to the addicted and the struggling. Most of the time, his message is as pointed and no-nonsense as the gun barrels he faced.
“I’m not any smarter or any more talented than anyone,” he said. “If I can do this (and overcome addiction), then anyone can.”
He gives credit to the love of Jesus for giving him a total makeover. Yet, he is wise enough to guard his steps and his whereabouts in order to avoid old temptations and old surroundings.
“I see myself as standing like a lighthouse to help guide ships to shore,” Kendrick said. “I don’t go out into the actual waves, because I know that I still could get swept under.”
Just a few days ago, a 30-something Austrian woman who has followed his social media posts and video clips traveled all the way to Columbus to meet him. He neither tries to explain such developments nor take credit for others’ turnarounds. But those who have benefited from his encouragement say they are drawn to his sense of love amid their horror.
Jake Bowman-Shaw was a gaunt 130 pounds, addicted to methamphetamine, sex, gambling — you name it — when he met Kendrick a couple years ago right when Bowman-Shaw left jail. But when Kendrick began mentoring him at The Truman House men’s recovery facility that Kendrick and others launched in Terre Haute, he began to find metamorphosis and a future.
“I’ve never met anyone like Brian,” Bowman-Shaw said. “We all have struggles. But he was one person who showed me solutions. He is the real deal.”
Today, Bowman-Shaw is clean, has a good job, nice apartment, a mate and a baby in Terre Haute. He missed Kendrick so much that he recently drove here to visit.
At The Truman House, Bowman-Shaw was always fascinated to see Kendrick wake up in a superb mood. Ask Kendrick why and he will look at you as if you are senseless.
“I know every time that I wake up that my life has been spared,” he said. “I once lived a miserable, horrible life. So, when I get up, I immediately run through my gratitude list for the day. That’s part of my recovery.”
Clearly, the man who once had to polish his street smarts is now being served by a measure of street cred.
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What: Moving Forward, featuring a walk, rally and concert with local band Bartholomew.
When: 6 p.m. Sept. 30.
Where: Donner Park shelter house near 19th and Lafayette streets in Columbus.
Coordinators: Recover Out Loud; Community Downtown; St. Peter’s Lutheran Church; Celebrate Recovery; Bartholomew County Substance Abuse Council; and the Alliance For Substance Abuse Progress Hub.
Information: Community Downtown at (812) 348-6257.
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