FULTON COUNTY DRUG COURT: The Story Of Danyel Vanarsdalen

Addiction is more than just the statistics we read about in the news. This series of articles about participants from the Fulton County Drug Court is meant to illuminate the human faces behind the numbers.

They are all part of our Fulton County family, and they are moms, dads, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons. This is the next article in the series that features the story of Danyel Vanarsdalen, as told to by Carol Tiffany, Program Coordinator.

My name is Danyel Vanarsdalen. When I was young, church was a big part of my life. Both my uncle and grandpa were pastors so I grew up with a very religious foundation.

However, even though my family went to church, my mom struggled with her personal life and started drinking to self-medicate and numb her pain.

As a result, I had to grow up fast and take on adult responsibilities which I resented.

My mom became an alcoholic because she didn’t know how to deal with life, and I was left with the responsibility to take care of my younger sister. I was a mom to her when I should have been concentrating on school and being a kid.

To rebel, I skipped school and ended up in juvenile court on truancy charges. I was court ordered to attend school, and I got good grades when I was there.

However, at age 12, I started drinking with my friends at home because my mom was at the bar. My house was known as the “cool house” due to lack of supervision, and I felt proud to be popular.

I started hanging out with older kids so alcohol and drugs became the ritual.

Drugs also helped me to feel less anxious and better about myself. Hanging out with older kids became a problem because at age 13, I wasn’t prepared to be in adult situations.

One night I was raped by one of my older “friends”. After that, I used more drugs and alcohol to feel better and numb what happened to me so I could forget.

My boyfriend, Nate, was allowed to move into my house when I was 14. By age 15, I was pregnant with my first child. I had to quit school and get a job in order to pay bills.

We moved out of my mom’s house when I was 16 but continued to use drugs. The bills piled up because we spent all our money on drugs and alcohol.

At this time, my mom had stopped drinking, but I was totally out of control. I graduated from using coke and crack every day to using meth and heroin every day.

I had another child, a girl, and continued trips to Toledo to get drugs. My mom wanted custody of my kids but didn’t legally pursue it. However, she was concerned with their welfare, so she took the kids until I could get my life together.

After a trip to Toledo to get drugs, we were stopped by the sheriff. Heroin was found in the car, and I went to jail for 8 months.

I was 28 years old and had been using substances for 16 years.
As soon as I got out of jail, I overdosed within 24 hours. This didn’t stop me, and I continued using and stealing from Walmart to support my habit.

I wrecked my mom’s car, got an OVI, and was sentenced to jail for 10 days. Before I could get out, I was indicted for shoplifting $12,000 from Walmart and served an additional 10 months.

I also got an F2 and F5 on my record which are serious felonies due to the amount of money stolen.

I didn’t think I was hurting anyone. I thought Walmart would just write off all the stolen merchandise, but that was addict thinking.

All this time, my family tried to support me but this was the end of their patience. There were too many broken promises. While in CCNO, my family cut ties with me due to all my risky behaviors and loved me from a distance.

They didn’t call me, send me letters, or anything. They cut off all contact and gave me tough love.

Even though it was tough for me, it was even worse for my family. But, they needed to stop enabling my addictive behavior in order to save my life.

After CCNO, I had to attend Serenity Haven before I was placed in Drug Court.

I entered Serenity Haven, a rehab for women, and really learned a lot about myself. They helped me to see things differently, and I had time to work on myself.

During family visits there, I confronted my mom with my anger about her addiction when I was young. I called her a hypocrite and shamed her because I thought it was her fault I was an addict and in rehab.

I wasn’t ready to admit that everything I did was my fault and not my mom’s. In reality, I was angry at myself for the choices I made.

I knew I needed to stop blaming her for the past, forgive her, and start holding myself accountable. That’s when the healing started! My mom was now sober, and it was my turn.

After leaving Serenity Haven, I moved in with my parents and was reunited with my kids. However, I had no job, no car, no money, and was getting a divorce after 17 years to get out of a toxic relationship. The real work was about to begin.

Drug Court was very intensive and difficult at first. I had to attend 5 NA or AA meetings a week and 2 random drug screens a week.

I was required to take IOP and RP, which were addiction classes that lasted several months to complete.

I had numerous appointments every week with treatment providers and Drug Court staff, plus had to juggle a job and family within that structure. It was exhausting, but I managed because I had wanted sobriety for so long.

Currently, I’m a manager at work and have learned to be assertive while setting my boundaries. I have talked to the 7th and 8th grade Health classes in Wauseon, telling my story and cycle of addiction in order to help others who may be struggling at a young age.

Plus, I’ve gone to Serenity Haven to talk to the women in rehab to show them what is possible! I’m not sure what the future will bring, but I’m ready and no longer afraid.