泰森骏马’s life has been shaped by addiction and the prison system.

斯蒂德现在已经戒酒五年，在韦伯州立大学学习社会工作，他希望自己在法律另一边的经历能让他成为一名有效的倡导者，帮助那些试图改变自己生活的瘾君子和前囚犯。

“I know my story alone is not going to change anybody. They have to want to do that themselves,” Steed said. “But I feel like if I can relate to those individuals that most people don’t want to relate to, that’s the key.”

41岁的斯蒂德一生中大部分时间都在州监狱和联邦监狱内外度过。 十几岁时，他开始吸毒，并在米尔克里克青年中心、集体之家和问题青年的野外项目中度过了一段时间。 20岁时，他第一次被关进联邦监狱，罪名是受限制人员持有枪支。随着年龄的增长，他不断受到指控，并被判入狱。

“I just couldn’t figure it out. I didn’t feel welcome anywhere,” Steed said. “You might not see it at first when you’re using, but when the drugs wear off and you realize what you’ve been doing… It’s a lot of guilt and shame that I didn’t know how to communicate and deal with.”

出狱后，他有过恢复期，参加了12步戒毒计划，并参加了一个戒酒垒球队，在那里他建立了与社区的联系。 But in 2020, Steed hit his lowest point, relapsing into drug use, violating parole, and
engaging in several high-speed chases with police that eventually led to a stand-off with guns drawn.

At his parole hearing following his last arrest, Steed was surprised to see that many of the connections he’d made during his period of sobriety had stuck around – and had written several letters of support to the parole board, with one letter including a treatment plan for him after prison.

“That gave me hope that what I’ve chosen up to this point in my life doesn’t define who I am as an individual,” Steed said.

After serving several months in prison, Steed was released to his sponsor’s house, washing dishes for $10 an hour to save up for inpatient recovery treatment. 他在戒酒之家待了18个月，最终成为了一名房屋经理，他很感激在重建生活的同时有一个安全的地方可以住。

“My life today, I couldn’t have imagined it five years ago,” he said. “I’d rather worry about school work, working my butt off at my regular job, and saving money than being in prison.”

While he was in sober living, Steed’s now wife, Ashley, was studying social work at 新葡京app State and working at a treatment center. His sister had also recently received a master’s in social work from Utah State University, inspiring him to look into getting a 新葡京app himself.

Steed began studying part-time at 威诺娜州立大学戴维斯 in 2023 and eventually plans to earn his master’s in social work at WSU. 他想成为一名有执照的临床社会工作者，专门治疗有创伤的人、有监禁史的人、瘾君子和正在康复的人。

“My goal is to reach the individual who spent the majority of his life in prison and doesn't have a clue what to do and everyone's given up on him,” he said. “I feel like I can connect with an individual like that, because I can say, ‘I've been in your shoes, actually, I do know what it's like.’”

在华盛顿州立大学，斯蒂德曾担任刑事司法课程的客座演讲者，讲述他在这个系统中的经历。 He’s grateful for the opportunity to share his story, and often speaks at county jails and the Utah State Correctional Facility, hoping to reach others like him. He and his wife also run a non-profit, the 阿什利·米歇尔计划, focused on addiction recovery support.

“I want people to live, and I think it's important we work together as a community. 新葡京app State has given me that right now,” he said.