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Meet Tori Dixon
Program Staff
Tori was born to parents who were addicts. When she was young, her father got clean and took custody of her. Her father was disabled and had to rely on disability to make ends meet. Tori hated that her life wasn’t like the other kids. She isolated herself and started hanging out with kids that were getting into trouble. At age 12 she started using meth, smoking weed, and drinking. Despite that, she graduated high school early and got a scholarship to Utah Valley University. At age 16 or 17, she got into heroin, which quickly became her drug of choice. She went to college and started working on her general education requirements, but because she was doing hard drugs, she ended up dropping out of school. At age 18 she started getting arrested, going to jail, and enduring the nightmare of withdrawing from heroin. Her dad enabled her by giving her money and a place to stay which he believed was helping her. She had two children, and because of her drug use the state came in and took her children from her, she had to sign over her parental rights. At this point, Tori overdosed a couple of times, she wasn't trying to die but she wasn't trying to liver either. She was constantly in and out of jail, using drugs, and living on the streets. When her father passed away, she took it very hard. She felt guilty for having never given him the opportunity to have a daughter that did well in life, which he deserved. Tori fell deeper into the hole she was already in. She had given up.
Tori went to jail for the last time in 2016. She wrote to The Other Side Academy and got an interview. When she came to sit on the bench, she had no idea what she was getting involved in, but she knew she couldn’t go back to the streets. She saw this as the rare opportunity it was and promised herself she would give it her all. She has kept that promise to herself, and during the course of her stay, she has gained confidence and self-love. She is able to look in the mirror today and be o.k with the person who is looking back at her. She attributes the positive change to the sometimes harsh feedback she received from her peers over the years. Now she wants to be here for the newer women. She loves teaching women to mentor other women.
In 2019, Tori was hired as a full-time staff member of The Other Side Academy.