WESH anchor Jim Payne shares son’s addiction story tonight
WESH-Channel 2 anchor Jim Payne knows there’s an audience for the personal story he will share today in prime time.
When he told an Apopka group a year ago that James Payne, the older of his two sons, was a recovering alcoholic and addict, the room fell silent. When Jim Payne asked how many in the room had dealt with a similar situation, twothirds raised their hands. To help others, he started to tell his family’s story in speaking engagements.
“Most parents build a wall and try to hunker down and deal with a complicated situation,” said Jim Payne, 59. He will share his story on today’s “Matter of Fact: State of Addiction,” a look at the opioid epidemic. “If you start chipping away at that wall, people will come out of their shells. I came to realize there’s good information out there. You can take control of the situation back from the addict and drugs and make smarter decisions on behalf of the loved one in recovery, and in the process, be a way better parent.”
James Payne, 29, who has been sober almost five years, takes part in the special at 10 p.m. on WESH and WKCF-Channel 18. He works at Solutions Recovery, a rehab group in Las Vegas that he credits with helping him find sobriety after two relapses.
“My life today is much better,” James Payne said. “I actually have something to give people, which feels great. I get to see people where I was five or six years ago every day. It’s like, ‘Ah, I know that guy, that entitled guy, that disrespectful guy.’ It gives me a good reminder to appreciate where I am and to keep doing what I need to do.”
But getting there wasn’t easy.
“You need people from the outside to help,” James Payne said. “It’s not just the person that has the alcohol and/or drug problem. The family dynamic gets sick, as well.”
Jim Payne and his wife, Sharon, started having James Payne drug-tested at 15. Jim Payne said he later learned his son had started drinking alcohol at 13, then progressed to other drugs.
“People he would hang out with would raid medicine cabinets. People didn’t put away opioids,” the anchor said. “They didn’t care about mixing and the consequences. They were all about getting high.”
James Payne had good grades through high school and earned a scholarship to college, but his drug use expanded to several times a week in college, his dad said. “He knew he was losing control — it was exerting its power over him — but he felt like he could manage it, until one day he realized he was in over his head,” Jim Payne said.
James Payne’s crisis became clear when the Paynes received a call that they needed to get their hospitalized son into recovery. The parents tried to be supportive, and seeking more information, they started attending Nar-Anon meetings.
“If you’re not changing the situation at home, then you’re setting up your loved one for failure when they come out of rehab,” Jim Payne said. “It turns out, all of the help we had been giving, even the things we were saying, were completely the wrong things. You reach out with care and compassion. Sometimes they need to be told, ‘You’re on your own, stop calling.’ Until they hit rock bottom, do they finally say, ‘I’m going to try to leave this life of addiction.’ ”
Jim Payne’s bosses praise his decision to share the family’s story on the air.
“We know Jim as a trusted journalist, but he is a father first with a deeply personal story that may resonate with so many others,” said Barbara Maushard, senior vice president for news for Hearst Television, owner of WESH.
“His willingness to delve into something so personal so that others might find help and healing is really quite incredible,” said Kirsten Wolff, WESH news director.
But Jim Payne gives the credit to James Payne, who oversees up to 120 addicts daily as residential manager for Solutions Recovery. “In rehab, people either get better or they die,” the anchor said. “He’s seen quite a bit of getting better, but quite a bit of death, too, for someone his age. He’s aware of how critical it is to get families all the information they need so they’re on the same page and working toward the same goal.”