Meet Maurice!
Meet Maurice!
My name is Maurice and I grew up in Tacoma WA. In early 2024 my mental health spiraled downward rapidly as a result of substance use. I was feeling extreme paranoia and hearing voices. I ended up on the streets roaming between Portland and Seattle. Eventually, I took a train north from Portland where I met a stranger who talked me into getting off the train with him in Kelso, WA. He talked about going to the Community House shelter as I checked into the hospital emergency department because the voices still persisted in my head. The doctor sent me to Columbia Wellness for stabilization. I happened to be walking by Core Health after leaving Columbia Wellness and saw a lady coming outside and asked her if they could help me with counseling and substance use treatment. She said "Yes of course we can help." I went inside with her and talked to the ladies at the front desk. The staff immediately helped me, spending hours doing paperwork and listening to my story. When they learned I had nowhere to sleep they called CHESS to find me a place to go.
I moved into the CHESS facility in February 2024. Within days I began counseling for my mental health, started substance use treatment, was assigned a peer, a case manager and a housing specialist. Once my mental health was stabilized the voices decreased and life was going much smoother for me. I was making progress in my treatment classes and processing life with my counselor weekly. I began having constant stomach pain and ended up at the emergency department almost every week for five months. They treated me for pancreatitis each time but it always returned. I still continued my appointments at CHESS and the staff even helped me get on ABD assistance and I got approved for HEN housing assistance. Afterward, I met with the housing staff at CHESS and applied for an apartment.
My pancreas pain was unbearable at times so one day my case manager, Tish, told me it would be a good idea for me to get a second opinion. Upon seeing an ER doctor in Vancouver and doing some tests, I was admitted right away for further testing. I spent three weeks in the hospital where I was given the news that I had stage 4 pancreatic cancers that had spread to my liver. That very same day I got a call that I had been approved for the apartment I applied for weeks earlier. I couldn't even think of living on my own with this new diagnosis but the CHESS team reassured me that the apartment would be secured for me until I was ready. I began chemotherapy to slow the spread of the tumors which were at 229%.
Meanwhile, CHESS staff helped me apply for a caregiver while I continued to attend counseling, groups and meetings as able while doing weekly chemo treatments. I even put in the work to graduate SUD treatment. I finally felt confident enough to move into my apartment knowing I would still keep my caregiver and would be coming back to CHESS for regular counseling and peer support. After doing chemo for about 10 months my doctor gave me the best news of my life. He told me I am in remission and my cancer is at 4% and is no longer active. Today I have my own apartment, I’m almost cancer free and I have over 18 months clean and sober all with the help of the team at CHESS who consistently showed up for me during my darkest time. I am told I am a walking miracle.
-Maurice