From gangs and homelessness to stability and sobriety, one client shares how faith, healthcare, and consistent support helped him build a life he never thought possible.
By: Richard Valadez, a client of PHC
Where do I begin… there’s a whole lot. I’ve been through everything. I grew up in gangs, man, at like 12, 13 years old. That’s just where I grew up. You see it, you become it. I was using early too, heroin, PCP, later meth. But I don’t blame nobody. That was me. Those were my choices. I never really had stability… ever. Not growing up, not later. It was always something.
I had a real job at one point. Over ten years. I was installing cubicles, doing IT wiring for Apple, Google, Facebook. Big companies. That was probably the best time in my life. I probably could’ve retired from that. But I got into a bad relationship, things went sideways, I lost it, and after that I was homeless about two and a half years. Back out there again.
I was on meth heavy at that point. Not doing good. And then my body gave out. I had a bad reaction to psych meds and my body just shut down. I couldn’t walk, couldn’t control nothing…my face, everything was out of control. I ended up in the hospital and I knew I was dying. I felt it. I told my son, I said, if I’m like this after three days, pull the plug. I don’t want to be seen like that in my final moments. But on the third day… something changed. I found the will to live.
Around that time, I found God… and I found PHC. And both of them saved me. I remember I was in the hospital, I had a priest in there, I was crying, thinking that was it… Chloe walked through the door. I still remember that. She felt like an angel. Straight up. Like… something changed right there.
From there, they didn’t just come see me and leave, they stayed. They helped me through everything. My condition kept getting worse and I needed surgery—brain surgery. Deep brain stimulation. They put an implant in my brain, and that thing calms my body. Without it, I lose control again. That saved my life. I really believe that.
When I got out of the hospital, I had nowhere to go. I couldn’t go back to my sister’s, couldn’t go back to the streets. That’s where PHC and New Directions stepped in and got me into a place. A real place.
PHC… that’s family to me. All of them. I’ve had a bunch of case managers and every one of them, I took something from them. They’re all different, but they all care. And they don’t just say things, they do it. That’s the big thing. People in this world say a lot, but they don’t follow through. PHC follows through. They fight for me. They changed my life.
When staff come visit me, that’s what I look forward to the most. Even if we’re just talking about bills or stuff like that, just having that connection… it makes my whole day better. I know that sounds silly.
I still deal with chronic pain. I got messed up from a lot of things in my past. I got beat up by police back in the day, so my back’s bad. But I don’t want to go back to pills. I don’t want to get hooked again. So PHC set me up with shots in my back instead. That way I can deal with the pain and stay clean.
When I got sick, I had to stop everything. It was life or death. Now I don’t even think about drugs. I just know I’m clean. I don’t know how long I’ve been sober; I don’t care to know, I’m just over it. And for the first time in my life, I get to be myself.
Like, I love Pokémon. People think that’s weird—this guy, gangs, drugs, all that—and now Pokémon? But I don’t care. That’s me. My house is full of it. Pikachu everywhere. Nobody tells me what to do anymore. I live how I want.
I ride my scooter, even though they tell me not to. I survived all that. I’m gonna live. I go to Los Gatos Creek Trail, I feed the ducks, fish a little, just be out there. That’s my peace. Every day I step out, I just try to enjoy my life.
I’m still working on coming out of my shell. I want to be more open, talk to people more, be out there. I want to cook more too—still working on that part. But I’m trying.
I’ve been talking to some youth too, sharing my story. Just letting them know where I came from and that there’s another way. You don’t have to go down that road. That matters to me.
At the end of the day, I’m proud just to be alive. Waking up… that’s everything.
My journey’s not over. But PHC is still with me. That’s why I say that they’re family.
