The power of consumers as helpers is in their potential to act as ambassadors of recovery. In Dana Woolfolkâs story we witness this power in action. A friend and former consumer reached out to Dana while he was on the streets, helping him to move toward recovery. Dana reminds providers that the invitation to change is not enough. Support makes the impossible possible. Today, Dana is a Clinical Recovery Coach and a member of the HRC Advisory Steering Committee.
When I reached the end of the road, I was hopeless and helpless. I was resigned to the fact that this was how my life would be, living on the streets and just getting by day-to-day, hour-to-hour and minute-to-minute. Sometimes I spoke to outreach workers, police officers or kind strangers, but nothing they said made me think that things would ever be different.
Sure, there where times when I had a moment of clarity and tried to get into a detox or treatment program, but I always heard the same thing: âSorry, we’re full. We can put you on a waiting list but it’s running an average of two to four weeks before space becomes available.” I don’t know anyone like me – with over twenty-five years of active addiction – who could wait this long to get started with treatment.
What finally did help was when I ran into an old buddy from the streets. He was clean, had nice clothes, jewelry and a car. He told me that he had been off the streets for several years. Then he took the time to tell me how to get the help I so desperately needed, and how to use that help as a steppingstone to independence. Now I told myself, âHell, you may as well give it a tryâyou’ve got nothing to lose.â A former neighbor gave me a ride to detox, and this time they had a bed!
Now, mind you, I had no intention of stopping drugs and alcohol. I just needed to clean up a bit so that I could get a job, save some money for a room, and then I would use more responsibly than I had in the past. Who would have thought that attending all of those boring twelve-step meetings every day would make a believer out of me? I knew that I wouldnât be able to keep using. I heard so many people in the meetings talk about how hey had tried to do the same thing and failed over and over again.
When the detox was complete, I decided to ask for further treatment and was sent to 90-day residential program. The program required you to find a job after the first 30 days. I was able to work without supports because without the substances in my body, the mood disorder began to clear up.
Today, it’s ten years later. I’m married, I own a home, and I am employed as a Clinical Recovery Coach at a community mental health center. To anyone trying to get his or her life back, I would say, âDon’t give upâthere’s a miracle just around the next corner.â To providers, I say, âAlways remember that as long as there’s life, there’s hope.â Sometimes we need you to have hope for our recovery until we are able to have this hope for ourselves.