I am a person in long-term recovery from dependence to heroin. Treatment helped me learn how to deal with my feelings and emotions, and to live life without the use of drugs.

I've learned that substance use and other problems may have run in my family for generations, but this doesn't have to define my life. I didn't always know that; my drug use began at age 12, and by the time I was 13, I was using alcohol and other drugs daily. Now I have a much different story to share.

In 1995, I was given the opportunity to participate in outpatient treatment, where I was able to identify the issues that I had been self-medicating for most of my life. Through treatment and ongoing 12-step participation, I have been able to heal broken relationships. I have been happily married for nearly 13 years, and have regained custody and raised both of my children. I am blessed to participate in the lives of my children and grandchildren.

Because of treatment, I have gone from being a seasonal construction worker who depended on welfare and unemployment checks to being an executive director for a local nonprofit. I have earned a college degree in human services and nonprofit management and am currently in graduate school working on a degree in counseling psychology.