Local father recognized nationally for overcoming substance abuse, challenges of raising autistic sons
Chuck Roberts plays with his sons Chuckie, 10, right, and Kellan, 9, during a recent trip to Harmon Field Park. (EXAMINER PHOTO | REUBEN MEES)
When Chuck Roberts lost custody of his two autistic sons, it proved to be the push he needed to change his life.
Now, not only does the single father have custody of his 9- and 10-year old boys again, but he is also working to help others who struggle with life’s challenges and plans to start a support group for parents of autistic children.
The local father was recently selected as one of five Reunification Heroes nationwide by the American Bar Association’s Center for Children and the Law.
For much of his adult life, the Bellefontaine man had turned to drugs and alcohol to escape from the challenges of raising children with autism, although he always tried to do his best by his boys.
After facing legal consequences, watching friends die from the disease of addiction and experiencing other negative repercussions, the now 32-year-old father was beginning to see that his drug addiction was only compounding his woes.
“I struggled with addiction my whole life. I used drugs to escape reality,” Roberts said.
In mid-2016, he was facing a theft charge and it was not long after that Logan County Children’s Services placed his sons, Chuckie — technically, Charles Roberts V — and Kellan in foster care.
The father was enrolled in the Logan County Family Court Treatment Court docket program that aims to reunify parents with their children through substance abuse counseling and treatment along with other family-related programming and support.
“One of the biggest obstacles was getting through everyday life without the drugs,” Roberts said, noting it was at that time he began taking advantage of local recovery support groups to help him cope with his substance abuse issues.
“When my kids got taken, I got really involved in the 12 steps,” Roberts said of his journey. “That’s a big part of what I do now to stay clean is to attend 12-step meetings and help others who are just getting started.
“Now, I’m two years’ clean. I worked during that time to become a better person. I learned a lot about myself.”
Despite working to improve his life, losing custody of Chuckie and Kellan was heart-wrenching, Roberts said.
“There is no closer thing to hell on earth than being separated from your kids,” he said.
Read complete story in Saturday’s Examiner.
CLICK HERE to subscribe today!
WEB EDITION STARTING AT $9.50 FOR 5 WEEKS!