Trey Jenkins was born into a family shaped by alcoholism, addiction, incarceration, and mental-health struggles.

When his mother went to prison during his early childhood, Trey was passed between relatives while his father traveled for work. His grandfather became the closest thing he had to stability and a real father figure.

But after leaving that life to live with his mother and brother, Trey was introduced to drug dealing, gangs, crime, pills, and street life. By 15, he was using substances to cope with what he was seeing—and what he was becoming involved in.

At 17, Trey received devastating news: his mother had breast and lung cancer and did not have long to live.

Two weeks later, she died while holding his hand.

That same night, Trey used heroin for the first time.

To everyone around him, he appeared tough—a gang member and drug dealer who could handle anything. Underneath that image, he was scared, grieving, shooting dope, and completely alone.

Then, just 28 days after losing his mother, Trey’s brother was killed through gun and gang violence while they were together in a car.

His addiction spiraled.

Homelessness, detoxes, treatment centers, crime, and survival became his reality. At 19, Trey was shot in the leg and spent six months in the hospital. Doctors told him he was fortunate the bullet had missed a major artery.

When he was released, he was homeless in downtown New Jersey and walking with a cane.

Around age 20, Trey committed a crime that resulted in 33 months in prison. After his release, he was paroled to Cincinnati and stayed sober for a period—but unresolved pain, manipulation, toxic relationships, and relapse continued to follow him.

Fatherhood eventually planted the seed for change.

Thinking about his son Matteo—and later learning that his daughter Amia was on the way—forced Trey to confront the life he was creating and the kind of father he wanted to become.

He returned to treatment, started listening, accepted guidance, found a sponsor, worked the steps, earned his peer-support certification, and built a genuine foundation in recovery.

Today, Trey has 50% custody of his children and has also become a father figure to Maisie, the daughter of his partner in recovery.

He wakes up every day with the opportunity to help other people and has launched Breaking Generational Curses, a clothing brand that gives a portion of its proceeds to God Behind Bars.

Trey’s mission is bigger than staying sober.

He is building a life his children can be proud of—and working to ensure they never experience the pain of addiction or growing up with an addicted parent.

This is a conversation about grief, heroin addiction, gang violence, homelessness, prison, fatherhood, recovery, and finally building a life you no longer need to escape from.

Every story has a lesson. Every lesson has the power to change a life.

Learn more about the podcast, apply to be a guest, or explore sponsorship and advertising opportunities:

https://gittuppodcast.com

Follow GITT Up with Adam Larkin:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adam.larkin.399/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gittuppodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gittuppodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GITTUPPodcast

Follow, rate, review, and share this episode with someone who needs to hear that it is possible to break a generational curse.

#GITTUpPodcast #AddictionRecovery #BreakingGenerationalCurses