Meet Brian T. (SC #841). Before coming to Healing Transitions, Brian T. says he was “living the long and depressing journey of jails and failed rehabs for the better part of a decade.” Now married, an Account Manager for an exterior property maintenance company, and having just adopted his second dog, he attributes it all to Healing Transitions.
He was somewhat familiar with the program because he had worked as a paramedic in Richmond, VA, where The Healing Place is located. So, the idea of him going to Healing Transitions was suggested to him multiple times by family and friends.
“Whatever was presented to me to help me find recovery, I did not want or was not ready for,” Brian says.
After being released from jail, Brian left Richmond and moved in with his mom in New Bern, hoping for a fresh start. He stayed sober for two weeks, but one night, he relapsed and began experiencing intense, haunting hallucinations.
“I saw people chasing me, but there was no one there. I ended up hiding next to a graveyard, hallucinating my own funeral. My sisters, nieces, and nephews were saying goodbye.”
For the next week, Brian would sit in his room, staring at himself in the mirror, not coming out.
At the time, many programs wouldn’t take Brian, but Healing Transitions did. Six days later, he was admitted into the program. Upon his arrival, he had no intention of taking the program seriously. He was just glad to be in a place where he had no charges pending and didn’t owe anyone money. Eventually, he saw some of the guys in CTR I and CTR II.
“I was mad at them—like furious—because they were so happy. Then I started to think, well, that doesn’t make sense. You’re mad at people for being happy?”
That’s when things began to shift in his mind, and he thought maybe he should give the place a chance. A Peer Mentor in the planning room made a lasting impact on Brian just by remembering that he had mentioned he was in the Navy during his intake call.
“I thought I was invisible, that nobody cared about me. But just somebody remembering something about you and talking to you like a human for once—it felt memorable.”
The community aspect Brian shares is what makes Healing Transitions such a special program.
“You can’t make it through the recovery we’re aiming for without it.”
Today, Brian is grateful for the life he has built—filled with purpose and happiness. He recently took a spontaneous trip to Buffalo, New York with his friend and former roommate from the program, James, something he never would have imagined before.
“I’m grateful to be able to go on a trip with a friend on a whim,” he says. His journey through recovery, grounded in community, has given him the chance to live a life he’s proud of.