TAMPA, Fla. — Officials with Turning Point of Tampa, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation treatment facility, say there has been an increase in clients coming in younger to get clean.

Thirty-three-year-old Logan Chamberlin turned to Turning Point at age 20.

“I can reflect on the last 13 years of my sobriety and that’s been the theme of it. It’s always been the process of needing to dream new dreams in my life.”

His life, those new dreams now at age 33, include working as a licensed mental health counselor at Turning Point — the same place he received treatment.

“I know intimately what it’s like to be in the shoes of my clients, to be in that position, to be new in treatment, the fears, the insecurities that come along with that,” said Chamberlin.

Chamberlin also relates in another way — saying Turning Point has seen about a 20% increase in younger clients, those 18 to 30-years-old.

“Certain substances are becoming more and more powerful with the fentanyl epidemic, and opiate epidemic that is leading people into crisis a lot sooner,” said Chamberlin.

Chamberlin can help those clients through crisis, like he did with now 21-year-old Sam Fleming, who arrived at Turning Point for treatment in February 2021.

“I had a really bad opiate addiction. I was homeless at that point living in Miami, and I had exhausted basically all of my options and really, I was just destroying my life.”

Fleming says treatment helped get his life back.

“I’m coming up on two years of sobriety in two days. Life is amazing now,” he said.

Fleming also works as house manager at Turning Point.

“I’m helping them, but they help me,” he said. “They help me just as much as I’m helping them, if not more.”

It’s help that Fleming and Chamberlin want to make sure people know is available.

“My hope is that as more and more younger people are sustaining recovery, there’s more example out there that recovery is possible at a younger age,” said Chamberlin.