George Duncan
I was always in trouble. By the time I was in the sixth grade, I was drinking, expelled from school, and locked up for truancy and burglaries. At the age of 13, I was placed in a juvenile correctional facility. I was expelled from there too because no one could control by behavior, although I had been put on medications. No one recognized the mood swings; they just saw an “incorrigible” kid.
An uncle took me in, cared for me and adopted me. But, when I got my girlfriend pregnant, he kicked me out of his house. At 16, I became a father for the second time. I was still drinking, doing drugs and committing crimes. This time, I was sent to Adobe Mountain. A new law had been passed “expelling” anyone 18 years of age from juvenile facilities. Along with a bunch of other kids, I was dropped off at an office on 20th and Roosevelt, in Phoenix.
My grandmother took me in. I was still drinking and doing drugs. I received guidance from no one. I continued robbing to support my drug habit and survived the best I could. At 23, I was drunk and high when I started a fire in my apartment. I was then sentenced to seven years. When I was released, nothing was different; I had not been given any help or rehabilitation. I went back to prison at age 29 and got out 11 years later at the age of 40. Again, I had no future and returned to the life I had left but now with a fear of prison.
I reunited with the mother of my child, Rita. She told me I was mentally ill. I went to Value Options who denied me, saying I wasn’t ill, I was an addict. When Magellan took over as the Regional Behavioral Health Authority for Maricopa County, I went to them and at the age of 41, was diagnosed. It took a year of agony to get my medications right, but finally I started to think clearly. I relapsed many times, but Rita was always there to nurse me and to help me. I finally learned of Visions of Hope and became a member. One day, Visions management overheard me talking…then my life completely changed. I completed peer support training and was hired as a peer support specialist for 10 hours a week.
That was January 2010. Since then, I’ve quit smoking; I don’t drink or do drugs. I eat healthy, exercise, and take care of my family. My employer wouldn’t let me fail; James Russo trusted me and I began to trust myself.
In January 2011, I was promoted to facility operations manager. I am a success.
