Avery Elliott grew up as the hearing son of a single deaf mother — which meant that by age 8, he was the one interpreting phone calls, doctor visits, and even his mom's dates. That forced responsibility came at a cost: a childhood he never fully got to have, and a young adult who chased the opposite extreme the second he was on his own.In this episode, Avery takes us through it all — the divorce that split his family, the culture clash of growing up half in the hearing world and half in Deaf culture, a short-lived stint in the Army, a DUI that cost him his license for a full decade, and a slide into alcohol, meth, cocaine, and ecstasy that nearly cost him everything. He gets brutally honest about the restaurant industry's culture of substance use, the "backwards logic" that kept him drinking, and the moment he finally called his sister and knew nothing would ever be the same again.Today, Avery is the founder of RAAD (Recovery Advocates for Adult Deaf) — an organization built to close one of the most overlooked gaps in the recovery world. Deaf people are twice as likely to develop substance abuse disorder, representing an estimated 3+ million people nationwide, yet resources built for them are almost nonexistent. Avery is on a mission to change that — building bridges between the Deaf community, the hearing world, and the recovery space, one connection at a time.This is a conversation about responsibility forced on a child too soon, the long road through addiction, and what it looks like to turn your pain into a mission that serves the people who need it most.🎙️ Learn more about RAAD (Recovery Advocates for Adult Deaf) and how you can help: https://www.raadusa.org/🙏 SUBSCRIBE for new full-length episodes every week and daily clips across all platforms.📲 Follow Do Me A Favor Podcast: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561411538472 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DoMeAFavor-SC Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4jSvFmwLJ8kiXs53QlfOIy?si=9796107f2ffd4d86 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/domeafavorsc/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@domeafavorsc 🛍️ Shop the DMAF merch store 💛 Support the show / donate✉️ Join our email list: dmafpodcast.comIf this episode hit home, do us a favor — share it with someone who needs to hear it, and leave a review. It genuinely helps us reach more people.#recovery #addiction #DMAF #RecoveryCommunity #DeafCommunity