One of our exemplary former clients–someone we will refer to as Antonio to protect his privacy—ascribes his success to a few select individuals who encouraged him throughout his journey.
Antonio was born in Chicago to a family with connections to the Mob. In his formative years, he suffered abuse and serious trauma from his grandfather and, separately, his mother. As he grew older, his grandfather began to teach him how to make a lucrative living through commercial burglary. At the age of 13, Antonio ran away from home and started using methamphetamine. During the various stages of his recidivism, the longest he stayed out of prison was 11 months. While he found solace in working as a GED clerk and teaching literacy to other inmates in prison, he was necessarily pulled into illegal activities by inmates who would have otherwise threatened his safety.
Based on Antonio’s history of substance abuse, relapse, and recidivism, many in our society would have written him off as a lost cause in the early stages of his adversity. Despite difficult odds, Antonio’s still found crucial support in the form of a few personal advocates. The last parole officer that Antonio worked with saw his potential and encouraged him to move to San Francisco to escape the dregs of Los Angeles. Next, Antonio found a staff at the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project, who Antonio convinced to take a chance on him. Through SFPDP, Antonio found harm reduction programs and connected with a PTSD therapist who provided him with the knowledge and wherewithal to identify, label, and address past traumas. On top of an ongoing relationship with the PTSD therapist, Antonio continues to meet with a case manager at SFPDP who to be impressed with Antonio’s personal drive to attain the skills necessary to fulfill his professional ambitions.
None of this is to say Antonio’s advocates streamlined him to sobriety and stability. Even after moving to San Francisco, he relapsed and faced temptations to return to his past lifestyle choices. When thinking back on the trials and tribulations of maintaining sobriety, Antonio discussed resisting drinking to the point that all of the beer in his fridge went stale. Today, he has been 7 years without alcohol and 10 years without drugs. He is five credits away from getting his Drug and Alcohol Counselor Certification with the short-term goal of becoming a Peer Advocate. In the longer term, Antonio wants to become a Case Manager and attain a Master’s Degree. To quote someone close to Antonio who encouraged him to pursue further education despite being older than his classmates: “You’re going to be 65 anyway, you might as well be 65 with a Master’s Degree.”
One of the many things that makes Antonio’s story remarkable is that he has strong convictions about the channel his lived experiences in a constructive way. He acknowledges the impact he can have as an individual. He wants to use his past to connect with other individuals who suffer with similar travails.
Antonio’s story demonstrates the fortitude of human spirit. We are proud to have worked with him and look forward to what lies ahead.