My Mugshot: Greg Edmonds
Greg says he learned everything from his uncle when he was a kid, like how to hunt, fish, cuss, and make moonshine. Throughout his school years he was involved in sports, which led him to the University of Alabama at Birmingham to play basketball. During his freshman year, he broke his foot and became addicted to pain killers.
After graduating college, he was offered crystal meth and became addicted. Greg’s addiction led to jail, joblessness, homelessness, and the abandonment of his three children. While in jail, he became friends with a guy who spoke of His Way with a gleam in his eye, saying, “That place helped me.”
In June 2018, he was released from jail for the final time and was at his lowest point. He says that moment in his life was “the gift of desperation” he needed to seek help at the His Way Recovery Center.
His process in recovery brought “true refinement with Christ,” as he likes to put it, and he’s never looked back. While at His Way, Greg became “the most popular guy in rehab” because of his great attitude and his natural tendency to lead others. In 2019, he proudly graduated from His Way and has been sober ever since.
Now, he’s gainfully employed as a car salesman where he tries to share the love of Christ with his customers on a regular basis.
My Mugshot: Jocelynn Edmonds
Jocelynn’s childhood consisted of an alcoholic father, a broken family due to her parents’ divorce, and a short reprieve of living with her godly uncle until he died in 1995. Out of necessity, Jocelynn worked as soon as she could at 16 but soon received a DUI at 17. This was her first instance of being hurt by her own substance abuse.
After her DUI, Jocelynn suffered multiple tragedies. She married a man at 21 and had 3 miscarriages. She learned it was due to having cancerous cells in her body and underwent 6 surgeries to remove the cancer. This led to an addiction to pain pills.
Jocelynn’s behavior while addicted to pain pills made her a 16-time felon and landed her on the Franklin County’s Most Wanted list. She decided to turn herself in to the police, and she spent 6 months in jail where she met a lady who talked about the Lovelady Center, a recovery center for women.
Jocelynn decided to enroll in the Lovelady Center’s program after getting out of jail and after a short time, she “gave everything to God.” She started believing that God put a calling on her life.
Fast-forward to today, Jocelynn has helped 1,879 women go into recovery treatment and is starting her own nonprofit called The Place of Grace, a recovery center specifically made for women who struggle with addiction. The Place of Grace resides on 5 acres in Marion County, Alabama. With the love of Christ in her heart, she also donated a kidney to one of the officers who arrested her in her past to save his life!
Their Story
Greg and Jocelynn met on Facebook after learning they both had previously struggled with addiction and now have a relationship with God. Jocelynn began praying for Greg, and that led to finally meeting in person a short time later. Today, Greg and Jocelynn are married, Greg has restored his relationship with his son, and they are both working together to help recovering addicts overcome their pasts and find help in Christ.
To any struggling addict reading this, remember Greg’s advice: “Sobriety’s about the big picture.” Please consider reaching out to His Way for help.
Learn more about His Way’s vision to advance Christ-centered recovery as a rallying point that unifies mission-oriented churches and Christians through sharing materials and resources, providing training and proved recovery models, and planting new programs and ministries around the world.