From Hopeless to Hope

Hello, my name is Tiodolo Delagarza III, I'm 37 years of age, Hispanic, born and raised in Wisconsin with 5 siblings myself being the 2nd oldest. I come from a dysfunctional family both parents as addicted and white crime and violence was the way of life. From child to adult I was exposed to wrong doings, manipulating, and resistant to change. By the time I was 20, I had been in and out of incarceration beginning at age 13 all the way until age 26. I spent most of my life incarcerated, from youth detention to adult incarceration due to being on drugs, in gangs, and always willing to do whatever I could for my next fix. In 2009 I was released from treatment and prison and back into the community. With little to no support I began using what I learned from prison. From what seemed hopeless I began utilizing what was shared of how to recover, from years of abuse, crime, violence, and drug addiction, of course it wasn't easy, though I did my best to apply what I learned. I was in a cell in 2007 with myself, my thoughts, and a ton of trauma from being physically, mentally, emotionally, and sexually abused as a kid growing up. When I was in treatment I took the time to educate myself and apply new ways of living, I learned how to read and write all over again. Over time in treatment I was inspired to pursue my education after returning back into the community. I used every resource possible and in doing so I met several community leaders, became familiar with local law enforcement and paved the way doing presentations sharing how crime and violence impacted my life, to now being a public speaker sharing my experience, strength, and hope. From what seemed like a Rock Bottom experience is now a leader instilling hope in others. Today I sit on the board of 4 different-profit centers, Recovery Coach for adults reentering back into the community.