Today we’d like to introduce you to Michele Guzman.
Hi Michele, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am a recovery advocate because Substance Abuse Disorder has affected me and I am standing up and speaking out to stop the stigma! To reduce the negative perception that continues to exist for many struggling with addiction, those living in recovery, and their families and loved ones. I was a victim of this STIGMA as a child growing up with a father that suffered from suds and as a Mother. This disease has no boundaries and can and will rear its ugly head anywhere and affect anyone. No one is immune. I also advocate for change in the systems that are supposed to be in place to help us, but the reality is, in most cases, they work against us. When I was three years old, my father was severely injured in an industrial accident. This was in the early 1960’s; morphine was the answer to not only the pain but also the mental anguish. When there was no more morphine, he turned to the streets doing whatever it took to feed his addiction. As a result, there were many arrests, followed by state penitentiary stays for years at a time
There were no re-entry programs at that time so when he got out, he would go out and do what he knew. There were four children, I was the oldest. At times it was my responsibility to keep a roof over our heads. We have been homeless, lived in tents, in motels, relied on food pantries to eat. I kept the faith that this would not be our destiny as a family. In the early 1970’s my father went to a trade school and obtained his CDL license. Finally, I saw normalcy in our future. As a young girl, I tried everything to fix my father. It was many years later that I learned that addiction is a disease and there was nothing I could do to Change it, Cure it or Control it. My Father never found recovery, he abstained for periods of time but he stopped completely.
Years pass, I move across the country and start a family. I have three children: one daughter and two sons. At the age of 12, I find that my youngest son Miguel is experimenting with marijuana. I go into panic mode, is history going to repeat its self. I tried everything I could think of to intervene and get him to stop. Over the next couple of years, Miguel finds other drugs and substances to use until he finds OPIATES. History is repeating its self, but this time it is my baby. By the time he was 17, he was in full-blown opiate addiction and experienced his first overdose. Thank God for Narcan! It saved his life that day and many other times after that. Miguel’s addiction took me to places that I never thought I would go, doing things I never thought I would do. I had tried all of the systems locally that are supposed to be there for parents to no avail. At the age of 17, Miguel would enter his first in-patient treatment center, followed by sober living. At that time, there were very few treatment centers that would take adolescents, let alone a sober living home. He was in South Florida, safe from himself and thriving in recovery. I had my Son back. We were all so full of faith. He enrolled in college, got a job, excelled musically. Once he was home and comfortable, he stopped going to 12 step meetings, fell back into the old behaviors and it wasn’t long before things went sideways. In the next 5-6 years, there would be many more overdoses, brief trips to jail, a near-death hit and run accident that lead to many surgeries, and even more opiate prescriptions. In the midst of all of this, he would become a father to a beautiful son. I never lost faith that God had a plan and I would tell Miguel just that. I would continue to encourage him, support him, and most of all I would LOVE him.
By this time, I was in my own 12 step recovery program. I was changing. Miguel became proud of the changes he saw in me and felt more comfortable with dealing with me honestly in ways that were complementary to both of us. We found respect for each of our journeys. I may not have been happy with the path that he was on, but it was his path and I just needed to love him and pray that things would change for him.
The night of February 26, 2016, will forever be etched in my mind. The late-night phone call, the chaos that ensued after. I had to get home! The next three years are a blur, I isolated myself from the world, only attending to what I absolutely had to. Then at an event that I was holding at my home called Lights of Hope, something inside of me awoke… I became a Mom on a Mission! It is my mission to educate the public about this misunderstood disease. To make changes in a broken system. To assist those struggling with substance abuse to find the help that they need. To support families and loved ones through the journey that none of us signed up for. I have found my voice, my soul is alive, if I can help just one person, then he did not die in vain.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The struggles were the systems that we are told are there to help us, in fact, did the opposite. Finding treatment for a teenager was extremely difficult.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have been blessed with the opportunity to join a team of professionals to help build an Adolescent Treatment Center. Lotus Behavioral Health is focused on treating and healing the whole family. My position is Family Relations Coordinator, I could not be happier with this opportunity to help families that are on the same journey seeking the same treatment that I was and being able to offer them everything that I found lacking in my search. To be on the founding team is a Dream come true.
I have been able to partner Lotus Behavioral Health with the Florida Department of Children and Families: I save Florida program; we are the only facility in Seminole county that a person in need of the life-saving Narcan can come to our center and receive Narcan for free of charge. With the assistance of a dear friend, I was able to start the first Nar anon 12 step program for families and loved ones in Osceola County and assist in developing the second one, I also brought the program into the Osceola County Jail (pre-Covid).
I applied and was accepted to be a Florida State representative for Th Recovery Advocacy Project. The Recovery Advocacy Project (RAP) is a network of people and organizations across the country advocating for addiction recovery policies. RAP is committed to giving people in recovery from all pathways, family members, and supporters of recovery the grassroots organizing tools to think and act locally. RAP is working to build a visible and effective constituency in demand of the community and public policy-based solutions in response to America’s long-standing addiction crisis.
As an advocate for recovery and a mom on a mission, it is my mission to be the voice of my son and to help families, loved ones, and those still suffering from substance abuse. I created my outreach Faith over Fear to do just that. If a person needs detox, rehab, guidance, a listening ear, seeking help to get re-established. I will do whatever I can to find the resources needed for their situation.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
As far as networking: I have jumped in and gotten involved with as much as I can. I research events and go them, introduce myself and ask how I can be involved. Social media is a great source for groups and events. As far as a mentor, once you start getting involved, you will meet people that you are gravitated to. I the recovery world, you find most everyone is willing to help. Being of service is one of the principles they stand by.
Contact Info:
- Email: Michele.Guzman@LotusBH.com
- Website: LotusBH.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michele.naylorguzman https://www.facebook.com/Faith-Over-Fear-Outreach-123157534431702
