Colorado Peer & Family Specialist/ NADAC
My story is rooted in the jagged soil of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). As a child, I was like
a fragile sapling battered by storms, enduring physical and mental abuse. All I wanted was to
escape the relentless pain. In my teenage years, I sought refuge in alcohol—a fleeting balm for my
wounds. Marijuana followed, and then crack cocaine, which became a mirror reflecting the rage I
carried inside, amplifying its roar.
I spiraled into a world of destruction, my anger blazing like an uncontrolled wildfire. Arrests piled
up—distribution, assaults, even robberies—culminating in a 72-year sentence for second-degree
murder. It was as though I’d been swallowed by a deep, unrelenting abyss.
But in the shadows of my prison cell, I found a flicker of light. I decided to extinguish the darkness
within and rebuild myself, brick by brick. After 28 years, I emerged transformed. Today, I am
Nationally Certified with Mental Health America and a Colorado Peer and Families Specialist.
Once, I took from my community like a thief in the night. Now, I am determined to pour into it, like
rain nourishing parched earth.