Reflections ►
Lighting The Path
by Dolores Halbin , contributing writer
When I first asked my friend if I could write her story , she paused and said , “ Why ? My story is a
lot of people ’ s stories .”
“ Because ,” I replied , “ the wounded need resilient people to light the path in front of them .” She is one of those resilient people , committed to lighting the path in front of her for others to find their way out . We will call her Danielle to protect her from any repercussions that may arise using her real name .
Danielle recently took a job in her community as a domestic violence advocate , starting six recovery groups in the past six weeks . Her first-hand knowledge after escaping a 13-year abusive marriage and all that comes with it is invaluable to those in the process . “ Until you have to run out of a house with your children and nothing else , you can ’ t possibly know the challenge ,” explained Danielle .
Manifested
This job , this career move , and going to college for her degree in social work did not just happen . Danielle manifested it all .
I first met this young lady when she signed on to be our volunteer coordinator for the Patients Out of Time conference in 2022 . Danielle ’ s fiancé worked at one of the local manufacturing facilities , and they ’ ve both been active in the cannabis community for years . Danielle worked as a cannabis consultant as well as a brand ambassador for Elevate Holistics . She and her fiancé cultivate both as patients and on the patient-caregiver platform .
Every Tuesday morning , my project partner , April Hatch , RN , and I met with Danielle at Winstead ’ s on the Plaza . Danielle would just be
getting off her 12-hour night shift as a certified surgical technologist in a nearby hospital labor and delivery unit .
“ It ’ s a dream job ,” Danielle told us the first time we met , “ just not my dream .” She went on to speak her dream into the universe , “ I want to open a not-for-profit to provide resources to other women when they finally have the courage to get out .”
It took another year of speaking her heart ’ s desire to come across the ad for a job as a domestic violence advocate and in her hometown to boot — no more hour commutes .
Only a short while ago , Danielle would not have qualified for this job . She is a Missouri medical marijuana patient and , like so many of us , used cannabis to extract herself from the world of dangerous drugs , both street and pharmaceutical . She is 13 years clean from opiates and credits cannabis with helping her stay clean .
“ I went from seven different prescribed pharmaceuticals to three with the help of cannabis . No way am I going back ,” she said resolutely . Most patients will take a job that allows the use of cannabis versus a job , even a dream job , requiring them to give up the plant and submit to drug screens . So , Yahoo ! Progress , not perfection .
Gathering the Tools of Wisdom
I recently caught up with Danielle while she was attending a conference in San Francisco .
“ I read about the conference , but my job didn ’ t think we had the funding for me to go ,” said Danielle . “ I don ’ t take no for an answer easily , so after my own research , I found out we did have funds after all . I
44 October 2023