We were lucky to catch up with Barbara Holguin recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Barbara thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
I started off more than 10 years ago wanted o work in the Criminal Justice system. I had not idea that my path would bring me to where I am today. I now own an Alcohol & Drug Treatment/Education Program. For the last 5 years I have used my background in the jails, courts and drug and alcohol addiction to build a business that offers a complete continuum treatment program. Clients can be assessed, received education or treatment and also maintain their sobriety with our support staff. I am proud to also provide all services in Spanish as well.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
For years I studied alcohol and drug addiction in school with my degrees that I have earned and also applying this knowledge in the courts and jails. I became more familiar with the many faces of alcohol and drug addiction when it struck my family. My mission to offer a well rounded service in an area that needed it started involving into a more authentic product than I originally intended.
My handpicked team have all had experience first hand with the courts, jails and substance abuse. I believe that our knowledge and level of authenticity makes us special. We are small and I wish to keep the size of the business capped to keep the closeness our clients experience with our staff. When treating the population with alcohol and drug addiction there is a certain level of passion that in the field to be as effective as we are, all of us truly believe in recovery.
More recently we have been working with our surrounding counties to ensure clients that are unable to get to service providers are able to get the education and treatment they need to reintegrate successfully into their communities. We have also been focusing on meeting the needs of the spanish speaking population by providing all of our services in spanish.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Two weeks before Covid-19 hit we launched our first treatment program. After operating with just and education program for 2 years it was time to move into the next phase but little did we know the world had a different plan. To plan for our newest program I extended my lease and expanded into a larger space to accommodate the new clients we expected. 2 weeks later the world came to a jarring halt and we no longer needed face-to-face programming. Thankfully a savings account and some financial relief from the government kept us afloat through the first year of our new treatment program. We are a self-pay program that does not currently accept health insurance and we do not receive funding. It was a very trying 18 months! As businesses all around us were closing their doors due to the financial strain, we held on. This November Discovery celebrates its 5th year. I started this business teaching all the classes nights, weekends days. My first year the chairs and tables came from garage sales and the side of the road sometimes!! I painted the walls with my 3 year old on my hip and defied most small business statistics during the Covid-19 pandemic, we survived!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Definitely being open to how to approach clients was what I had to unlearn. My background in the penal system created a certain persona that I used with clients, I had a very black and white understanding of sobriety. Now after my own personal experience in substance abuse with my family, I have evolved to understand the many avenues to get through the journey clients are experiencing. It is very humbling to walk alongside someone going through this journey. I am so grateful to get the opportunity to be that person.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.discoverydwi.com
- Facebook: discoverydwi
Image Credits
www.seanrainer.com