LINDEN, NJ — Jeff Moreno was living the dream.
He had it all. A career as a firefighter. A landscaping business. A house. A beautiful wife and children.
Then alcoholism flipped that. “Once I picked up that vodka, that was it,” said Moreno. “I didn’t control anything I did.”
Moreno is a Linden resident for nearly 30 years. He worked as a firefighter. In 2006, he earned Firefighter Lifesaving Award of the Year. He was also Firefighter of the Year for the city of Linden.
Drinking wasn’t part of Moreno’s life. He didn’t drink in high school; he was an athlete. As an adult, he was a beer drinker and started drinking vodka in 2011. Working in the fire department – and life in general – there was always an opportunity to celebrate. There were golf outings, shifts getting together for the holidays, bowling and even a drink at the end of the day landscaping.
“It had nothing to do with my life. The drinking became normal. I always had it in my life,” he said.
Then, drinking became problematic. “Alcohol took over life,” said Moreno.
He was forced to retire from the fire department. “It was the only thing I ever knew, taking pride in that,” he said.
After losing his job, his wife left him. His mother and children stopped talking to him, too. “I lost 10 years of my life,” he said. “The addiction robs you of everything.”
Between 2012 and 2019, Moreno spent time in 104 facilities trying to get clean. Finally, in early 2020, he started to turn his life around. “I just felt I lost it all,” he said. “I had nothing left to lose. The only way to go was up.”
Moreno began to cooperate and went to meetings every night. “I got a sponsor,” he said. “Praying every day. I gave it all up to a higher power. Everything started to get better in my life.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Moreno was offered a position as recovery support supervisor at Recovery Centers of America in Raritan Bay, in South Amboy. “They help me just as much as I help them,” he said. “It’s God’s plan that I’m here.” He also got back with his wife and children. He now has a 1-year-old granddaughter, too.
Prior to his downfall with alcohol, Moreno was an athlete. “It was something I loved to do,” he said. However, when he got sober, he gained 90 pounds and topped the scales at more than 300 pounds.
“My son had a bunch of friends over,” he said. “I said I was going to do a triathlon. Everyone laughed. I said, ‘I’m gonna do this.’”
Moreno feels that you can’t compare anything to fighting addiction and now there’s nothing he can’t do. He began eating right and going to the gym four or five days a week. “I was committed,” he said. “I’m not giving up. Fighting addiction gave me the energy, the momentum, the heart to do it.”
On Saturday, Aug. 17, Moreno competed in the Brigantine Beach Triathlon, with his wife and family cheering him on. At the age of 52, he came in 228 out of 238. “I gave 100 percent,” he said. “There were mistakes I made. My timing wasn’t right.”
Nevertheless, Moreno had friends from high school reaching out to him, saying, “I can’t believe you did this.”
“I’m in recovery,” he said. “The people who called me, sent text messages, some didn’t know I’m alive.”
During Moreno’s ordeal with alcoholism, he also ended up getting kidney disease, which he says he has since conquered.
“I have to say, I come with a story of hope,” he said. “I kept going. I kept fighting.”
Now the most important thing in Moreno’s life is spending time with his family. He said, “I have peace of mind today.”
Photos Courtesy of Jeff Moreno and Courtesy of Recovery Centers of America at Raritan Bay