TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – For many, addiction doesn’t start with a choice. It starts with pain. And for years, Justin Boyd says that pain controlled everything.
“I was really close to death and I remember praying to God, if you can get me out of this I’m ready to change my life. I want to be a good father,” Boyd said.
At 38 years old, Boyd said he spent more than two decades battling drugs and alcohol, a cycle he now understands was rooted in something deeper.
“Drugs and alcohol are just a side effect from what I’ve learned. It has a lot to do with my trauma. A lot to do with my mental capacity, what I’m putting into my brain,” Boyd said.
Today, eight months sober, his life looks completely different. He is in college, earning straight A’s and working toward a future he once thought was out of reach.
“If you seen me then to now it’s totally different. I’m ecstatic I actually feel like I’m a good person now. I actually feel like there’s nothing I can’t accomplish,” Boyd said.
Boyd credits much of that change to Vital Health, a Toledo organization closing gaps in behavioral health care through therapy, case managers and housing support.
Founder Jacob Spellis knows firsthand how hard it is to find help.
“I was one of those kids. I was struggling with criminal justice system and at 18 I found myself facing 10 years in prison. It wasn’t many resources only 10 beds for detox available in the city at the time,” Spellis said.
Now, Vital Health serves around 300 people each month, with dozens in transitional housing, giving what Spellis says many never had: a real chance at recovery.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, call the emergency substance abuse hotline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Vital Health offers same-day coordinated care at (419) 740-3022 or visit vitalhcare.com/.
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