Today we’d like to introduce you to Marlon Martin.
Marlon, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
At the age of 24 I found myself at the end of a 10 year drug addiction that started at the age of 14. My parents desperately whisked me off to treatment with the hope of getting their son back. After completing my first 30 day treatment program, I knew I didn’t have enough in me to sustain the joy that I had begun to feel so I admitted myself into another residential facility to continue to work on my recovery.
When I was about three years into recovery I decided to go back to school where I was having a dilemma of what to go back to school for. Since I had been a musician since the age of 14 it seems like a natural choice to go back to school for music. While having the discussion with my pastor/mentor about my choice of going back to school, Pastor Carson said that he thought I should go to school for counseling because he had observed me working with people around the church and felt that I would do well in this area. I entered into the Austin community college school of addictions and pursue becoming a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor. I graduated successfully and became a licensed chemical dependency intern where I was able to work at the Austin recovery center. I worked at also recover centers for four years and became fully licensed.
After working in the field of substance abuse for the last 24 years my love for the people that I’m so blessed to work with continues to grow. In 2015 I decided to start my own facility that would operate on a smaller scale with the hopes of providing more quality time to the client’s in which I served. In 2013 I decided to go back to school where in April 2015 I received my bachelors of science in human service from Springfield College. After completing my bachelors of science I entered into the graduate program where I completed my graduate degree in August 2017.
The MK Center was birthed out of my passion, love, and desire to meet clients at the point of their needs. Establishing a place where people can begin to believe in themselves again, even though life has thrown every challenge in their path. Helping individuals to discover or rediscover their purpose through the vehicle of counseling or education classes is to assist the individual and becoming a better well-rounded person. What most people need is “just a chance” and for someone to believe in them. It is our hope and goal, at the MK Center is to provide just that, hope for the hopeless.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
To road to start your own business is never easy. I think my biggest obstacle in getting to where I am now has been myself. Having the faith and trust to know that you can step out on nothing and land on something is always a challenge both physically, as far as your resources are concerned and mentally, having the mental fortitude to withstand adversity but yet keep pushing towards your goal.
Having a family and a stable income and telling your wife that you are leaving your good stable job to start your own business is not an easy conversation that have. But I thank God that my wife has been so supportive of me and she has heard my vision and my dreams for a long time. So seeing her have faith in me gave me that extra boost of confidence that I could do this and it also killed my ability to back out of my decision.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about The MK Center – what should we know?
Presently the MK Center works primarily with individuals who are suffering from substance use disorder. Our approach is that clients are individuals, with individual needs. Through a variety of counseling theories and techniques we work with our clients to discover their individuality. Whether the client participates in a group or education class, each session is designed to assist the client in self-discovery.
The MK Center also provides a variety of education classes surrounding offender education, anger management, parenting, and recovery coach training.
Who else deserves credit – have you had mentors, supporters, cheerleaders, advocates, clients or teammates that have played a big role in your success or the success of the business? If so –who are they and what role did they plan / how did they help.
Early on in my career, I was blessed to have a mentor in the form of Dr. Dana Carson. Dr. Carson has played a tremendous role in laying the foundation in my basic understanding of working with people, and managing and running a business. Dr. Carson continues to serve as a mentor in my life and continues to be an inspiration that shows that as a little boy from the south side of Chicago can establish himself and touched the world, then I can accomplish the vision that God is laying out before me.
The list of individuals that have influenced my life and my motivation to establish my own business would go back 30 years. From individuals that I’ve encountered while living at the Salvation Army to sitting in board rooms, who is attending workshops. The general theme has always been you can do better.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my number one cheerleader who I’ve been married to for the last 19 years, my wife Monika Martin. She has endured the labor pains that I’ve experienced while pregnant with vision and now finally given birth to that vision. Now, as we go through the infancy stages, she continues to be a wonderful support to the mission at hand.
Contact Info:
- Address: Houston Office-14601 Bellaire Blvd, Suite 125, Houston, T X 77083
Pearland Office-11200 Broadway St., Suite 2743, Pearland, TX 77584 - Website:www.themkcenter.com
- Phone:281-652-5821
- Email:info@themkcenter.com
- Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/themkcenter
- Twitter:https://twitter.com/themkcenter
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