“We as addicts have to get out of our own way in order to recover.”
I have been involved in the addiction world for the last 15 years because I myself was addicted to heroin. I’ve often been referred to as a criminal with a heart, and even in the deepest depth of my addiction I still cared for other people. I knew ever since I was young that I was destined to help people but I couldn’t help anyone until I helped myself.
My life began in Fairbanks, Alaska where my mother and father were going to college but my true home is Duluth, Minnesota. I grew up in Minneapolis and then moved to Duluth after my parents finalized their divorce. Those who know me know that I often give credit to my grandparents making me the person I am. Through my parents’ divorce, abuse, depression, and drugs my grandparents kept me human and prevented me from going fully numb. My mother kicked me out at the age of 15 and it was the best thing she could have ever done for me. Fortunately my grandparents took me in after being homeless for a couple months and paved a path for me to try and get sober.
My education began in Duluth, MN at Lake Superior College for my Certified Nursing Assistant license. I began working in a rehabilitation/ long term facility working primarily with individuals in hospice care, with Alzheimer’s, or diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Over the course of the next couple years I learned that I simply didn’t want to medicate myself anymore, I didn’t want to die. This led me to Denver, Colorado where I’ve stayed ever since. I began going to College in Denver at CCD for addiction studies when I began working with Dr. Johnston at Urban Peaks Rehab.
My purpose in life is to help anyone I can because I’ve been there myself. In 2022 I am now the office administrator of Urban Peaks Rehab with 7 years of sobriety.
Getting sober is the easy part, staying sober is where the work begins.