I never served in the military, but military ties run deep in my family and among many of my friends, and I’ve always maintained a tremendous amount of respect for our servicemembers and first responders as I have spent most of my life living in cities with large military communities. I attended high school in the Washington DC area and was in my senior year on September 11, 2001. I had many friends who enlisted in the US Armed Forces shortly thereafter, many of whom ended up in combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. As they cycled back home, I saw firsthand the struggles that many of our servicemembers faced as they worked to reintegrate back into civilian life and overcome the injuries and trauma, both seen and unseen, that are an unfortunate reality of combat deployment. Unfortunately, I also saw many of them struggle with addiction and dependency which had far reaching impacts into their ability to function day-to-day, maintain stable employment, and develop/maintain healthy relationships. Additionally, having grown up in a period of time where alcoholism and opioid addiction has exploded, particularly among my age group, I saw first-hand how good people can struggle to face any number of life’s daily challenges and fall into addiction traps, which can ruin lives and put us on paths with potentially no good outcomes. I’ve seen how addiction and dependency can destroy families, relationships, careers, and health, which can be difficult to overcome without good support systems in place and people who care about the future of the person who is struggling through those difficult times.
My “why” is my children, my wife, my family, loved ones, and the good friends that I’ve lost to addiction along the way. I want to be the best version of myself for them, and to make sure that I can be a part of the support system that they need when they inevitably fall into one of the many traps that we may find ourselves in over the course of our lives. I’m here at Warriors Heart because I wholeheartedly believe in the mission and the specialized care model put in place by the staff and caregivers. I’m here because I believe that any Warrior that asks for help, should be able to get it, no matter where they are in their journey.
