Your Support Helps Students Like Jeffrey Become the Counselors Our Community Needs

Jeffrey Givner has known addiction. He grew up in a family affected by addiction, and later faced the disease himself. He witnessed both the devastation it can cause and the gaps in treatment that too many experience. Those moments shaped his mission: to give others a second chance like the one that changed his own life.

“I’ve seen what happens when people don’t get the right help,” Jeffrey says. “That’s why I want to be part of the solution.”

Now a student in the Addiction Studies & Counseling (ASC) program at CT State Community College Gateway, Jeffrey is training to do just that. His

goal is to become a clinical supervisor, who helps individuals find recovery and trains the next generation of counselors.

Beyond the classroom, Jeffrey serves as treasurer of the ASC student club. He organizes events to raise awareness about addiction and recovery. He also leads voluntary recovery groups in the community and at a treatment center.

Perhaps most moving of all is his work with animals: he fosters and rehabilitates abused dogs, including his own rescue pit bull, now trained as a therapy dog to comfort people in recovery.

As an older student who left a career to focus on school full-time, Jeffrey’s path hasn’t been easy. But his drive is unwavering. “The community gave me a second chance at life,” he says. “Now, my goal is to give that same gift to others.”