Daniel’s Story

Abused as a child, Daniel started using drugs at age 11 to mask his pain and shame. The abuse was so bad, he ran away from home at age 15 to escape his horrible surroundings. Living on his own, he suffered a series of accidents that led him to become hooked on painkillers and begin his struggle with addiction.

After years of addiction, he made an initially successful attempt at recovery. But when a motorcycle accident put him back in the hospital, he relapsed and fell into drug abuse again.

“I spiraled way out of control,” Daniel says. “I started in drug dealing and everything else.”

Getting arrested finally got Daniel’s attention. He knew he had to change his life.

Today, Daniel is at Atlanta Mission at The Potter’s House and back in recovery. This time, he is beginning to understand the underlying reasons for his addictions and make the changes necessary to overcome them. He is peeling back the trauma of years of abuse and getting down to the roots of his addiction so that he can finally break the chains that have kept him down for so long.

“This is the only place I’ve ever felt safe in my life.”

In the recovery programs at The Potter’s House, the curriculum teaches methods to build and maintain healthy relationships. For Daniel, the community that he has built at the farm has meant the world.

“I don’t have family,” says Daniel. “I don’t have any kind of support out there. I’ve always been on my own. So, this is the only place I’ve ever felt safe in my life.”

“Between the accident and the surgeries and all the major pain pills and everything else, I just needed help. And I knew that this was the only place that I felt like I could be comfortable enough to do it.”

Once without hope, today Daniel is looking forward to the future. He’s planning to go back to school and then work again. He’s hoping to work in the recovery field to help those struggling with addictions.

“I want to share my story to help others through God’s help,” he says.

As part of the Atlanta Mission community, you play a part in stories like Daniel’s. Thank you for supporting those struggling with addiction and helping them as they recover and rediscover their hope for their future.