COMMUNITY PROFILE ERICA’S STORY ERICA GONZALES finished her Sublocade treatment last March. Today, she works for Urban Peaks Rehab as a medical technician. Gonzales said she began abusing drugs and alcohol because she wanted to feel numb. According to Gonzales, her family was unsupportive when she told them she was a lesbian at age 12. Gonzales’s dad died from suicide not long after. “Dad was always around, he was just an alcoholic. He was a drug addict. And so, I’ve always seen that drug addiction side of life,” Gonzales said. She blames herself for his death. Her parents had split up, and her father asked her if she believed there was a chance that her mom would take him back. Gonzales said no and watched him deflate. The next day, he took his life. Gonzales understands that a 12-year-old isn’t responsible for taking care of their parents, but she can’t shake the thought that she hurt him. “You can’t take that back. Words are powerful. So. I have to live with that,” she said. Gonzales began drinking heavily around that time. She began using Percocet when she was in her early teens, stealing it from her mom’s purse and medicine cabinets. By age 14, Gonzales was taking Percocet daily. “Percs were the comfort I’d been looking for,” Gonzales said. “I no longer felt guilty [about being a lesbian and my father’s death] when I was high. I felt no shame, guilt, nothing. That’s just something I continued to chase until it became a living hell.” Gonzales switched to oxycodone when it was too difficult to find Percocet. Then she smoked heroin when the pills became too expensive. At age 15, she injected heroin for the first time. “I knew I shouldn’t have done that,” Gonzales said. “I could tell that black cloud was going to follow me, and that shadow followed me everywhere. After the [first] hit, I remember waking up wanting to do more. I just thought, ‘Is this what it’s like? Is this what heroin addicts feel? Am I one now?’” After being expelled from high school for dealing drugs, and being hit with multiple arrests for shoplifting, Gonzales entered rehab. After three weeks, Gonzales had her dealer pick her up. She tried MAT at another clinic but felt the doctors didn’t care about her. They rushed her out of the office with a prescription but no support. “It was a bad experience because you’d sit there for an hour and see the doctor for like five minutes,” Gonzales said. You could tell they didn’t give a shit. They just saw you as an addict and nothing more.” Gonzales eventually stumbled into Urban Peaks Rehab and began Suboxone treatment. But she didn’t stop using. Instead, Gonzales timed her heroin use around the Suboxone. It was Sally Gibbens, along with former Urban Peaks Rehab staff member Brittany Kitchens, who helped Gonzales commit to her treatment and stop using. And when the office needed a new medical technician, Gonzales applied. “I don’t think Doc [Johnston] was sure about hiring me,” Gonzales said. “I think he was the most skeptical because he knew me. I was just a shitshow when I started here. But once I was given the opportunity, it gave me something I didn’t have… something I needed.” Gonzales said she knows the most important part of her job is being available to help others as they go through treatment. She doesn’t believe she would be sober without the personal connection she built with Urban Peaks Rehab staff. “As much as Sally and Brittany were there for me, that’s what I’m trying to be to [current patients],” Gonzales said. “A lot of the people just feel abandoned. Like they don’t matter in this world. That’s how addicts feel. You can get to where you feel like, ‘What’s the point? It’s easier to die than get better.’ People are tired of trying. I just try to be here for addicts when they feel that way. I get on their level with them and I tell them I was an addict too. It gets better.” While Gonzales is still building her life, she said she is content that she has a home and a job. She has security that she had never experienced before and worked hard to get this far. ■ DONATE YOUR CAR! Need to get rid of your car, truck, or motorcycle? Consider donating it to Denver VOICE. Call (855) 500-7433, or go to: careasy.org/nonprofi t/denver-voice. Your donation helps Denver VOICE succeed in its mission to provide individuals experiencing homelessness or poverty the chance towards a more stable life. The Denver VOICE empowers homeless, impoverished, and transient individuals by creating job opportunities through our vendor program. We facilitate a dialogue addressing the roots of homelessness by telling stories of people whose lives are impacted by poverty and homelessness and to offer economic, educational, and empowerment opportunities for the impoverished community. VOLUNTEER WITH US! We are looking for volunteers to support our program coordination by helping with paper distribution and basic offi ce administration at the Denver VOICE offi ce (989 Santa Fe Dr.) from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. If you are interested and would like to know more, contact us at: program@denvervoice.org AN URBAN PEAKS STAFF MEMBER PROVIDES COMFORT TO A PATIENT. THE URBAN PEAKS TEAM VIEWS SUPPORTING AND INTERACTING WITH PATIENTS AS THEIR PRIMARY JOB. CREDIT: GILES CLASEN January 2024 DENVER VOICE 9
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