Pathway Drug Abuse Program

We sincerely thank the young people and the parents who have shared the following testimonials about their experience with Pathway Drug Abuse Program. Please click here if you would like to submit your story to help others who may view this Website in the future.

As a person in recovery motivated to share my experience strength and hope with others, I was fortunate to spend nearly three and a half years working with and for Pathway Drug Abuse Program helping young people and their families recover from drugs and alcohol. The level of care provided by Pathway, the genuiness, honesty and integrity of the staff, the resources provided, and the tools for recovery that young people acquire at Pathway are unmatched. As an empoyee there, I was able to witness the integrity of the staff firsthand. They would regularly go above and beyond simply because it was the right thing to do, and because they enjoyed being there for someone in need. I was also honored to be a part of a professional team of counselors that believed in what they were doing and strived to make Pathway a top-notch treatment program. It was a joy to watch families come in and see desparation and despair turn into relief and hope. From the state licensers who were always impressed with the facility and its treatment, to the parents who finally had some answers and lasting support, to the young people who discovered that sobriety really can be better than a life of using, I have no doubt that Pathway has made a difference in many lives. I love you all! -Ben

Drugs were my downfall. From as far back as i could remember i did drugs, it started with cocaine, then went to crack, extacy, weed, alcohol, then to meth. In just a few years time i lost everything, my car, my apt, my job, my family, and most importantly my morals. I did anything i could just to get my fix, so i wouldnt have to feel like crap. i lied, i stole from my family and friends, i pawned everything i owned, became homeless for awhile or crashed out at a tweaker apt with about 13 other tweakers. I had absolutly no friends and no future. I had gotten arrested 3 times in 5 months so jail was my future. one night i fell out and my parents went through my purse and found my pipe, they told me to either get out of their house or go to Pathway, i picked Pathway. i knew i needed help. Now i am learning how to make healthy relationships and actually have fun in life and my relationship with my parents is amazing. Pathway helped me so much.

Three and a half years ago I was told about Pathway by my son, who was abusing both alcohol and drugs. I have to admit that I didn't want anything to do with another drug abuse program because of past experiences. But I walked in the door and felt something I hadn't felt before. HOPE! My son started in outpatient and I started going to the Parent meetings. Through meetings and just talking to other parents that had gone through the Hell I had, I knew Pathway was different. The counselors all cared about my family. Two months later my daughter entered the program and a new life. Both have since graduated from Pathway and are doing great! I have another son that is an addict that I pray will become sober but with the love of the program and what I have learned I will not give up on him. I will forever be grateful to EVERYONE connected with Pathway and wish other parents that have children out there that are involved with the slow death of addiction could have what I have since Pathway...hope, peace and life.

We kicked our 21year old son out of our home because he did not want help for a disease that was killing him. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but one of the most loving. It helped save his life! He lived in the alley behind our home in an old broken down van. One cold winter’s night he and a friend came to the front door asking for help. Thank God I had just met Kerry and Judy at an AA meeting on a cruise, and they told me about Pathway. At that time our son was back in our hometown in jail. He entered Pathway in Tempe on March 6, 2003. For me as an adult child of an alcoholic who had grown up in AA and Al-Anon, I immediately felt at home at Pathway and knew this was the place for my child. I shall always be grateful to Pathway for helping save his live and mine too. After 5 months in the program, he disappeared off the face of the earth. If you are a parent of an alcoholic/drug addict you know the hell we went through. Since we lived in Muleshoe, Texas, we were too far away to participate in Pathway parents. The Pathway counselors urged us to attend Al-Anon, and that both my husband and I did regularly and still do. This taught us to live one day at a time. We learned also that we did not cause his disease, we cannot control it, and we cannot cure it. Alcoholism and drug addiction are family illnesses. We must not help him stay sick, and I had been the “queen of the enablers.” After a month of being missing Greyson called one day and said he had to get back in Pathway, and that he did. He has been clean and sober for 3 1/2 years and is now active in Alcoholics Anonymous. By the way, about 7 months later his friend also found help in Pathway. I shall always be grateful to Pathway for helping save my son’s life! I LOVE YOU, Magann R.

I had known all my life that something was different. Throughout my teenage years I used consistently, but managed to avoid hitting the bottom I needed. I was introduced to Pathway when my 16 year old brother got sober. I loved what his getting sober did for my family, but I wasn't ready to understand or embrace my need for sobriety. Years passed and at 25 years old, I found myself desperate for help, with no where to turn. Strung out on speed, having abandoned my daughter, living on the streets, and ready for suicide, I turned to Pathway for help. Still so terrified to admit I was wrong, I left several times, and each time, I was welcomed to try again. Eventually, I got sober in an affiliated group in Colorado - Cornerstone - and it stuck! I moved back to Phoenix to be closer to my daughter, and I have been sober since December 24, 2001. I could have never imagined the blessings and opportunities that have presented themselves as a direct result of my sobriety. Pathway was and is my saving grace. I owe them my life, and I will forever strive to be an active part of the miracle that is Pathway. The tools that I obtained from my stay at Pathway still apply in my everyday life today. Although graduated since March of 2004, I still cherish the memories, friendships, and the way of life that I was graced with in Pathway. It will forever, gratefully, be a part of my life. Erica J.

I was the girl who went to a christian private school, on honor roll for many years, and I come from a good family that loves me alot. Before I found drugs and alochol I would have my parents drop me off at church atleast 2 times a week. I guess you could say that I was always looking for something better than what I had. But why? My life was pretty good. I found drugs and alochol when I was about 14. And I was finally comfortable. By time I was 16 I had been shooting herion for a year straight. Just two years before that I didn't talk to my brother and sister for a while because they got busted drinking and driving. I told them that I wanted nothing to do with anyone who drank like that because I saw how it affected my family. So I never thought that I would end up living the way that I was. Once I found drugs and alochol, nothing mattered any more. Not school,not my friends, not my family. All that I cared about was how I was going to get my next fix. It got to the point where waking up while being carried into a hospital because I had over dosed was just normal. I went through 3 differnt treatments within 4 years and still could not stay sober. After finally getting arrested(which took about 5 years for that to happen)I went to my family for help once again. I thank God everyday that they never gave up on me. My father gave me the ultimatum of either going to treatment one more time and really sobering up or he would give me money, drop me off somewhere and I could continue to live like I had been. He just had one request if I chose the latter of the two-That I would have to forget that he was my father because he couldn't help me any more. I chose to try and get sober once again. My best friend got sober in this program and I knew that if she could do it than just maybe I could. When I went to my first meeting it was very strange. Nobody was telling me that I was a bad person, or reading out of a text telling me what I should do. That's what it was like the other places that I had been. They just sat with me and listened and that was very comforting. I laughed that night for the first time in awhile. Today I have almost 5 years sober and my life is nothing like I thought it would be. I have the best of friends that want nothing but he best for me, my family trusts me again, I'm trusted with my nephews, and I have a relationship with God as I understand him. I'm very grateful for the love and support that I was given from the Pathway staff and the support group. I don't know if I would get to be who I am today without their help. Thank you for helping do for me what I could not do for myself. I am forever grateful! I love Ya'll

Our family was being destroyed by our oldest sons drug and alcohol problems.Drugs had robbed our family of the love and trust we had always shared. We tried doctors and psychiatrists and school counselling and nothing worked. We were given a gift that changed our lives and that gift was an introduction to the Pathway Program. Where everything else had failed Pathway worked beautifully. Our family has healed because of the awesome and loving treatment we received at Pathway. They helped our entire family to grow through the most difficult thing any of us had ever faced. That was over 5 years ago. Our son is still sober and the lessons we learned are helping us to be better parents to our younger son. Pathways brought our family back to love and trust. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. The Murphy Family

In 2002, I had hit my bottom with alcohol, drugs & life in general. I knew something had to change before my behaviors continued taking me down a far more dangerous path, including suicide. I was given a new chance @ life when I walked in the doors of Pathway. I found people that understood my pain & loved & accepted me for who I am. I also began to discover who I am & what makes me happy. I graduated from this life saving program almost 9 months ago & am now in AA with over 3 years of aobriety. I want to thank the Pathway program & their staff members for the help I was given in my early sobriety & helping me learn how to live life!!! :)

I was 15 years old when my mom brought me to pathway and thank god she did. I started using alcohol and drugs when I was 13 years old. My life went down hill pretty quickly after that. I was using daily and stopped going to school by the time I was 14 years old. Drugs and alcohol had become my master. With out them I was nothing. When I came to pathway a counselor there told me to give it a shot for 30 days. I fought with him about it for a few minutes and then agreed. I figured that I would do the 30 days then use drugs and alcohol and then my parents and family would finally agree with me that I was a hopeless addict and could not be helped. The next day I started Outpatient, March 8th 2001 I have been sober ever sense. I had so much fun over the next 3years there. I was given so much love by the counselors and the other young people who were there to get sobriety. I was given there a new and wonderful new life. All the tools I needed to deal with conflict. Tools I never had, which is why I used. I was also given the opportunity to give back to the newcomers which has been the greatest gift. There is nothing like helping a sick addict and alcoholic. I graduated Pathway with 3 years sober I now have four. I have been in AA for the past year. And am using all the tools I learned in Pathway to stay sober. My relationships with almost all my family members have been restored because of recovery. I have a peaceful and quite mind and I am not drunk or stoned. Thank god for pathway and I thank pathway for showing me my God!

I found Pathway when i was 15 years old. I had just recently started to smoke weed but had been drinking for a few years. When i was first told that i had a drug problem, i almost laughed in their faces. In my head i was the typical high school kid who got high occasionally and drank alot. Not paying attention to the fact that the way i felt was not normal. I went through outpatient and got out and, before completing after-care, was back in oupatient awaiting my departure for Step 2 after relapsing SEVERAL times. I returned from Step 2 and completed outpatient and after-care (not without some bumps along the way). I am extremely grateful for Pathway because they showed me a way of life I never knew existed. I have friends that i can go to with anything and have never turned their backs on me. Thanks Pathway. I love yall

I found Pathway when I was 17 years old. I was addicted to meth and cocaine. I had been through years of psychiatric treatment and I had been hospitalized-nothing helped. My family and friends had given up hope that I would survive much longer. My mom sat up every night waiting for the police to call and tell her I was dead. Instead, I found Pathway. The loving staff, outpatient, and the people in the support group showed me the 12 Steps and a way to live without drugs and alcohol. I finally found a way out of the desparation I had accepted as my life. A year later, my dad admitted himself to treatment after appointments with the counselors at Pathway. My brother completed the program as well. We now share a wonderful life together as a sober family. My mother has not had a sleepless night in a long time. Thank you Pathway!

I found Pathway in 1994 when I was 16. I had been using drugs and alcohol for about 4 years. I started with pot and alcohol and quickly into anything. For the last year using it was mostly crystal meth...and a lot of it. My parents were desperate, they had me seeing a lot of different doctors, counselors, drug tests (the results were "lost") and I had been admitted into a psychiatric hospital. I LIED to all of them. I was asked politely to leave my high school and then another after physical fights with students. I had problems w/ the law and my parents. In June of 1994 I had left home, this wasn't the first time, and I had decided to move in with a family that made and sold meth. My dad had been paging me for days...I turned it off I felt bad. After about a week or so we all got kicked out and I went to another "friends" house and was met by the police who took me home. When my mom saw me I weighed 85 lbs. and had not slept in 5 days, the police told me I was going to return to the hospital, and then I punched him...that wasn't the best idea. I was released 7 or 10 days later and disappeared for 3-4 more days. My dad found me in a Motel 6 bathroom, sitting in the shower shaking and feeling like I was dying. My parents took me strait to the hospital..It wasn't a pleasant drive. 3 days later, after some sleep, a pathway counselor came to talk to me. I watched my dad cry over me and began to see how my life really was and I couldn’t stop. I stayed in the hospital for 10 days, to get healthy again, and started IOP. I had a few relapses but kept coming back. At some point I got willing to work the 12 steps and ask for help. The best part of IOP was when my parents came in for the S.O; I finally said I was truly sorry for the pain I had caused my whole family. When I had 18 months sober I had decided that I wasn't a dope fiend anymore and left the program. I debated using again and remembered the S.O and called my counselor. One day later I went back into older group IOP. And once again got willing to work the 12 steps and I started going to A.A meetings along with Pathway. The love that I and my family received, the morals and principles and most of all I found God. I have 10 1/2 years sober, I am still an active member in A.A and I still have a wonderful relationship with my family. Oh yea...my sister who I stole from, hit, yelled at and hurt through out this whole process of using, I did a 9th step w/ her at 8 months sober and today I am the God mother of her first child. I am forever grateful for the 12 steps, the dedication of the counselors, the enthusiastic approach, my families support, love and God that I found when I got sober. I love my life today and I am grateful that the Pathway counselor took time to talk to me and my parents that day in the hospital. I LOVE YOU!