Fostering Connection, Providing Care, and Shattering Stigmas Around Substance Use Disorder
Family means a lot to Shawn. So does his community. Those connections are an important part of his recovery from substance use disorder (SUD), and he makes them a priority. “I think that it's important to create memories, positive memories, because there's enough bad in life, you know. And it's not always a happy journey.”
He takes it one step further by the work he does to make sure other people are feeling supported. “I try to be a light in people's lives because it makes me feel fulfilled. I'm a caregiver. And I believe that caregivers don't give care—they give love. So I try to connect to people.”
“My phone rings all days, in all hours of the night, and I'll answer it. Because I know the person that's on the other side of that phone needs help right then and there. Not when it's convenient for me, not when it's my working hours, because problems don't come, you know, 9 to 5. They come whenever they come and, people's desire to, to get—to seek treatment.”
Substance use disorder (SUD) is treatable, but not everyone is aware of that. Shawn’s sharing his story to show more people that it is.
“It is, it is a treatable disease. It's not going to be a perfect world and people aren't going to always understand things the way that you understand things. But that's okay, because what will happen is once you begin to recover, they will see that you can get better and that there was some method, or some type of medical process helped you get back to where you need.”