Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Handy.
Hi Matthew, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in San Diego ca. I started abusing substances very young and I fell into addiction pretty quickly. I am the oldest of 10 kids and I was kicked out very young because I was doing drugs in my parents home and making a lot of terrible choices. I ended up in prison at 19 and that fast tracked a long series of events worse decisions and consequences. I ended up doing another prison term at 23 and was getting arrested constantly. I ended up homeless living under a bridge and I decided it would be a great idea to rob a bank. I got away with it but was arrested some days later for unrelated crimes. The feds found out I was in jail and I was then booked for the bank job. I was then facing doubling my lifetime in prison and at that time I realized that this was my chance to make some serious changes. I had fallen out of love with the substances and lifestyle a long time before this final arrest happened so I did some soul searching in that cell. One thing happened for me after another and I was given a deal that would allow me to either change my life or spend the rest of it in prison. I took advantage of that deal and never looked back. I ended up reconnecting with my family after a decade of no contact and they had moved to Houston. After I satisfied my obligations to the court and was allowed to leave I got an interstate compact and came out here. Once again I started losing site of the chance I was divine and I relapsed. This was my last relapse. It was one of the most pivotal moments of my life. Definitely one of the most important lessons I had to learn. I was pointed in a whole new direction and once again things started lining up in a way I had never experienced. I opened treatment center and since then I’ve had the opportunity to do something that allows me and all my suffering to have a real purpose. Now I can’t say I regret anything because all those painful moments and cold and wet nights and all the suffering was for a reason. Now I get to help people with my story and my experience and I wouldnt change a thing. I have a totally different outlook and perspective on my life now that I’m on the other side of all the suffering and actually am benefiting from it. I recently started a podcast where I get to talk about recovery and struggles and life with whole ever I want and I’ve been able to connect with some really amazing people and get their message of hope out there in my own unique way.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Drug addiction, alienation from family, alienation from society, incarceration, mental health issues, behavioral issues, spiritual deficiencies, homelessness, health complications due to IV heroin use for 15+ years, and no direction that lead to somewhere meaningful for years.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Harmony Grove Behavioral Health ?
Harmony grove offers a multiple pathway approach to treatment that says you have the ability to chose which direction you want to go with your recovery. We can’t tell our clients what’s going to work for them but if they can get honest and communicate their goals we can help them accomplish them. We can show them the options and help them make the smartest decision for their unique life.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Life is a risk. I’ve taken many risks and for years I was risking my life multiple times a day. The was times where I would weight the options and still make the riskiest decisions because it was the fastest way to achieve the mission at the time even though it was the most dangerous or life threatening. Now the life that I live is in such a different level that I’m willing to take the right risks because I’m not afraid to fail and I know that the risks I take today won’t cost me my life or my freedom.
Contact Info:
- Website: Harmonygrovebh.com and mylastrelapse.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthew.handy.17
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HarmonyGroveBH/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@mylastrelapse
