Legacy's PATH and CSS team members often come to be intimately involved in the lives of the individuals they serve—walking alongside them through moments of uncertainty, instability, and personal crisis. Yet it is a rare day when staff are given the opportunity to welcome a former consumer into the Legacy Treatment Services family not just as someone receiving care… but as a colleague providing it.

A.D. is a man who first walked through Legacy's doors twenty years ago as a client, and who now walks through those same doors daily as an employee.

Born and raised in New York, A.D. experienced profound loss at the age of 17 when his mother passed away. In the years that followed, he struggled with untreated depression and began relying on drugs to cope—a habit that eventually became ongoing. Over time, A.D. faced repeated instability, including homelessness, job loss, involvement with the justice system and psychiatric hospitalization. During a consultation connected to his transition from homelessness, he admitted he felt worthless. That moment became the turning point that connected him to Legacy's Crisis and Stabilization services and set him on a path toward recovery.

Looking back on his journey, A.D. says one of the most important turning points came from a simple message shared by a peer in treatment: "You need to put your pride to the side and accept hope."

Today, A.D., a Peer Support Specialist, is mindful in how he uses his story. He does not share it indiscriminately – always prioritizing the needs of the person in front of him. But when appropriate, especially when someone is facing struggles like those he once endured, A.D. will share parts of his journey to offer encouragement.

His goal is simple: to help others understand that it is possible to come out stronger on the other side. Like so many of our clients, he arrived at Legacy not with a plan, but with a need; he had a need for support, direction, and someone willing to meet him where he was.

While A.D.'s exact story is not wildly common, it is entirely possible. It is also a reminder of what Legacy's mission truly means: helping individuals move from surviving… to thriving.