After more than a decade of struggling with addiction, Jon Benson is working to turn his life around.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
His new existence is a far cry from the troubled kid who left school at 15.
The Warrnambool man said he had spent years in and out of jail but had built a new life for himself at Deakin University.
“I didn’t like school and it didn’t like me,” Mr Benson said. “I wanted to get out of high school as quick as possible.”
What followed were a series of labouring jobs and a butchery apprenticeship, but the trouble did not end.
If I can do it anyone can
- Jon Benson
“When I left school I struggled with addiction right up to 2015,” he said. “It caused me a lot of grief.”
Addiction has had a negative impact on Mr Benson’s life causing him to lose jobs, friends and respect.
“People didn’t want much to do with me,” he said.
“It caused a lot of depression.”
Mr Benson has been imprisoned often enough that it became the stable part of his life.
“I got to the point where my head was institutionalised,” he said. “I just wanted to live in prison because when I’d get out, my life just fell apart.”
Mr Benson said when he was released he would fall into old traps, living in a vice circle of job loss, depression, addiction, imprisonment and rehabilitation.
Now 30, Mr Benson said he couldn’t imagine doing the long hours and physically demanding work of butchery and labouring, and wanted to find control for his life outside of prison.
“I realised that education would broaden my horizons. I couldn’t keep living the life that I was living. I had to make some dramatic changes,” he said.
Mr Benson started studying a degree in arts in March at Deakin University with a passion for history but now hopes to complete a Bachelor of Psychology to help others who might be struggling.
“It’s given me the opportunity to put the past behind me,” he said.
Mr Benson believes there is hope for everyone.
“There’s light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “If I can do it, anyone can because I was just as bad, if not worse.”
Associate Degrees of Arts and Education course director Emma Charlton said she was impressed by Mr Benson’s determination and his motivation.
“Starting something new is challenging, and seeing his determination, enthusiasm and interest has been inspirational,” she said.