Hello, my name is Christopher Schroebel. I am 27 years old and recently released (August 16, 2018) from federal prison (for computer hacking) after serving 7 extremely tense, eye opening, difficult years in which my perspective has been completely changed. I am so thankful to simply just be out of prison and have a new profound respect & appreciation for the small things in life. In all honesty, I just need a nudge in the right direction as I am starting my life over with literally nothing. I aim to succeed and am desperate to take and utilize every opportunity I can to ensure that success. I need someone with a heart to be willing to overlook the social stigma that has isolated me from former friends and family, to please just take a chance and help me a little, you won't be let down...

Before I go any further, let me explain why I chose to make the poor decisions (as I am completely responsible for my actions) I did that put me where I am at today... I became an intravenous heroin addict at age 12. It was the first time I ever used and instantly I became psychologically addicted. After that, slowly life seemed to decay... I started getting into trouble more often, lying, stealing, hiding my addiction and eventually at 16 it surfaced. My parents, oh how they tried to help me, sending me to rehab after rehab & program after program not knowing what to do but I wasn't ready to change or quit. I lied a lot, to them and to myself. Somehow, I managed to graduate high school... After that, nobody reasonable would hire me, and if they did I couldn't show up for work sober enough to function.

I've always had a knack for computers and started hacking businesses, selling captured personal data to feed my addiction. I didn't buy cars, houses, jewelry or anything nice with my ill gotten gains - simply more drugs for my ever increasing tolerance. It was a cyclical nightmare. I remember the morning I got arrested, I was sitting in a trap house in an easy chair waiting to go meet with my dealer... I thought to myself, "God please save me... I am going to die here." Twenty minutes later the Secret Service raided the place. They were only looking for me. After that, I was extradited to the West Coast to essentially plea guilty and receive a 7 year sentence.

I spent these years in high security war zone penitentiaries where you had to carry a knife, stabbings were common place, and violence was the norm.  I had most of my teeth broken after in an altercation wherein I was hit in the face with a homemade weapon made with a lock on a belt.  This resulted in them being pulled instead of fixed per prison policy. I am extremely self conscious about my lack of teeth...

Anyway, I was constantly surrounded by inmates serving 30, 40, 50+ years, multiple life sentences, etc. People never going home, and there I was, some short timer punk kid who wouldn't get out of his own way or listened to the advice of others... until July 4th of 2017, the day something clicked. I quit using, I woke up, became ready. I looked around and realized that I finally hit bottom. I can't say what clicked, I just got tired of using... the stress, the heartache, the pain I caused everyone... I just wanted something different in life. It took me 6 years into my 7 year sentence to wake up, and to become an adult... and to realize that I hadn't been arrested all those years ago, I had been rescued. So many people have passed from overdoses during my incarceration, that I feel it in my heart that I would have been one of them... In my eyes, I have been given a second chance at life, and I can't afford to waste it away.

So what would I spend any donations on?

I am trying to have enough money saved up to rent a room for one month. Else im going to be homeless and im scared to effing death of being homeless.

If you made it this far, thank you for at least reading what I wrote and hearing my story.