I used to think my life was defined by what went wrong. Outbursts. Expulsions. Jail. Homelessness. A string of decisions that felt like momentum I could not stop once it started. For years, I was either trying to survive or trying to outrun myself.
I live with schizoaffective disorder. It affects my mood, my thinking and, back when things were at their worst, my ability to communicate. I remember dealing with disorganized speech and disorganized thoughts. I remember writing things that did not make sense, even to me. I also remember how long I went without asking for help – close to 20 years of my life where I did not go to a counselor, did not go to a clinician and did not really believe anything could change.
From about my late teens into my early 30s, incarceration was a major part of my story. I first went to jail when I was about 17 or 18. I was in and out for years, and I was also homeless for stretches. Some days, I drifted from place to place, shelter to shelter. Other times I would get on my feet for a while, move in with family, then lose that footing and end up back outside. It was exhausting and lonely.
The turning point came from my parole officer. She recommended I try mental health services and see what therapy could do for me. I was reluctant. I did not believe in a “talking cure,” and I was not sure I believed in myself. But she was honest: if I tried, it could help me stabilize and it could help me get housed. When you have been homeless, housing is not an abstract benefit – it’s a lifeline that can lead to crucial stability.
About six years ago, I started services at WellPower. What changed for me was consistency. I started showing up. I started being seen. I started building a routine around care that did not depend on whether I felt motivated that day.
What consistent therapy looks like in my real life
I meet with a clinician in person at WellPower’s Recovery Center. That matters to me. It’s more difficult to withdraw from my life when regular meetings are expected, not just urgent interventions.
Therapy gives me a place to talk honestly, where I can say the good with the bad and the bad with the ugly. I can say what matters to me and get a response. I still do not pretend that talking alone fixes everything. For me, therapy works best when it is paired with the medical side of treatment.
I take medication for schizoaffective disorder, as well as other medicines that help me in my day-to-day life. I won’t pretend that I love every part of taking meds on a schedule, but medication helped calm my disposition and reduce the outbursts that used to control my days. Therapy and medication, together, have a way of strengthening each other. For me, that combination synergizes to help me stay stable, healthy and motivated to keep working on my well-being.
Another thing that helped was how connected and convenient WellPower’s services are for me. I get my medications through the WellPower pharmacy. I also live just a few blocks away. When care is close, it is easier to stay consistent. Convenience is not a small thing when you are building a new life. It is the difference between “I should” and “I did.”
Over time, therapy also helped me reframe my past. I used to see every consequences as punishment. Now I can see that some hard stops were also protection, a forced pause when my health was declining and I needed intervention I was not going to seek on my own.
I noticed my perspective shifting after I got housing and kept it for more than a year. My life started coming together in small, measurable ways. It was not bleak all the time. There was opportunity. I had options. I could take steps, feel success and reward myself for following through.
One of the biggest changes has been how I communicate. When I was younger, disorganized speech and thoughts were a standout disability for me. I have worked on that through practice, through writing and by asking myself hard questions on paper. I journal in a way that is part reflection, part problem-solving: question, answer, question, answer. It helps me stay in tune with myself and remember how fragile I am and how precious life is.
NextChapter became my refuge
After I had been in services for a while, someone told me to try NextChapter, a program of WellPower. I have been coming for more than a year now, and it has grown on me in the best way.
I describe NextChapter like a school, even though nobody is grading me. I show up and I learn something new every day. There are other people there learning alongside one another, and we are all trying to make our way through life. There is not an expectation that I have to participate, but I usually do because I want to. Some days I bring my A-game. Some days are hard days. Either way, I belong.
NextChapter is also a refuge. When you have spent years cycling through institutions, couches and shelters, a safe place with friendly faces is not just “something to do.” It becomes part of staying well. The mentors give sound advice. The other people served by WellPower become familiar. The vibe is caring without being intrusive. It gives my day purpose.
Leaning into art, not as escape but as practice
I did not understand the power of being in a creative environment until I started spending time in NextChapter’s art program. I walked into a room with artwork, supplies and people making things, and something in my mind clicked. I felt inspired and stimulated. I wanted to progress my life, and it surprised me that creativity could do that.
My art pulls from a lot of styles, and somehow it turns into my own. I draw because I love the creativity and expression – I usually end up drawing people and faces as my primary subjects. Even when I am not drawing a person, I tend to personify things. That makes sense when I think about my history. I have lived with more roommates than most people can imagine – from prison cellmates to apartment roommates to family members. I have been surrounded by people in the streets and in institutions. People are everywhere in my memory, so people show up on my pages.
I do not always attach a neat story to each piece. Sometimes I start with a story and try to convey it. Other times I draw first and find the words later. What I do know is this: when I draw, I am usually in a good mood. I feel calm. I feel at peace. That is not an accident. It is a practice.
I also keep art around me at home. I have more than 50 pieces hanging in my apartment, including my own work and work by friends. I go to museums. I look at structures and patterns. Being surrounded by beauty is like a form of mental nutrition for me. It adds to my creativity, my purpose and my improvement.
WellPower gave me a pathway I could repeat
If I had to explain what WellPower has done for me in one phrase, I would say it gave me a pathway I could repeat. Not a one-time rescue. A structure: consistent therapy, medication support, a nearby pharmacy and a place where I can show up as myself, even on days when I feel scattered.
NextChapter fits into that structure as a daily anchor. It gets me out of my apartment. It gives me community without pressure. It keeps me surrounded by creativity and people who understand what it means to rebuild. In my past, isolation fed my problems. Now connection feeds my stability.
When people ask what I would tell someone who is struggling, I keep it practical: Go to a counselor. Go to a school counselor, a job counselor, a clinician, someone who can help you get a handle on life. I did not do that when I was younger. I did not do it when I was incarcerated. I waited for a recommendation. One person, my parole officer, pushed me to try, and that influenced my whole trajectory.
I still want more out of life. I want my art to grow. I want my future to stay bright. But I am not chasing that future with chaos anymore. I am building it with routine, with community and with care I can count on. My life is not perfect, but it is mine, and today I know how to take care of it.
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