Rouse, Ruin, & Repeat: Kelby Sanders, Outreach Clinician

Born in Maryland to a military family, Kelby moved across the country as a child until landing in Kansas at the age of 8 years old. He describes some of the challenges that came with moving around a lot as a child because it was hard to develop ties. The bouncing around from place to place continued for the military family even after settling down in Kansas.  Fitting in was a challenge for Kelby growing up, and he quickly learned it was easier to do “over the top” things as a child to earn the attention of his peers. With a father who was frequently absent due to his career, the family operated for long periods of time as a single parent home with a strong reliance on Kelby to help babysit his younger siblings. With aspirations of becoming a rockstar, sports and similar hobbies did not have much appeal to Kelby. Starting in 7th grade, the troublemaking that got the attention of his peers when he was younger started to lead into serious trouble. By the age of 16, Kelby was spending time on weekends partying. The catalyst for his addiction he describes started with receiving opioids after having his wisdom teeth removed. From there, he was buying pills throughout his youth. After getting kicked out of his parent’s house at the age of 18, Kelby was struggling with his mental health, homelessness, and substance use disorder. Life for Kelby was tumultuous, and he was stuck in a vicious cycle of “repeat, repeat, repeat.” Finally, he was able to break free from the cycle and now helps others do the same. Kelby, we are thrilled to have you now as a part of the Mirror family!

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