It Wasn’t Easy, But Daniel Got Here – What Recovery Looks Like

Daniel came to Heartland Community Health Center at a time when he was struggling with both his physical and mental health.

Daniel said he had been addicted to drugs for a while and needed support learning how to manage the emotions that had become overwhelming. “What all of this helped me with was ways to cope with a lot of my emotions I didn’t know how to cope with in the beginning,” he said.

He began receiving services at Heartland, including therapy, primary care, and dental care. “I saw pretty much all the above—mental health providers, the doctors here. I’m even doing the dentist.”

Since beginning therapy, Daniel said he’s made significant progress. “My therapist and I have been talking about a lot of my goals that I’ve set,” he said. “She’s helped me through a lot of stumbling blocks. I’ve been able to get a job, work that job. I’ve been promoted a few times. I’m even now in a headspace to where I’m getting my GED.”

He added, “Things are actually very falling into place the way I’ve always wanted them to. It’s taken a while, but I’m doing really good.”

Daniel said he has continued setting new goals for himself. “I’m not even stopping with these one certain goals. I’m wanting more and more for myself. Each time I set a goal, I make a new one and I take baby steps to accomplish those goals.”

For others who may be unsure about asking for help, Daniel encouraged them to give it time. “It gets rocky at first, but it definitely takes a lot of initiative and it takes a lot of work,” he said. “If you take advantage of the things that you can get from here, a lot of things can change.”

“I’d say that with the right help, anything you put your mind to, you can accomplish. I found that to be true myself.”

He said he would recommend Heartland to others. “I think the people here actually show that they care,” he said. “I’ve been to other places where I’ve tried to get help, and even though I wasn’t ready at the time, I could still see that a lot of places I’ve been to don’t necessarily put in a lot of the time that the guys here do.”

Beyond clinical care, Daniel said the support extended into other areas of his life. “There’s more than just therapy help and stuff like that. You get help with insurance, and there’s programs like Ryan White here and a lot of other programs that can help you get on your feet or get you into treatment centers and stuff like that.”