Recovery Innovations

Recovery Services Administrator
Recovery Innovations of Arizona

Hello my name is Christopher Bartz and I would like to share with you a message of hope, a message that recovery from even the most difficult and dire of situations is possible.

From as early as elementary school I had trouble fitting in to social groups and always felt like an outsider. This did not get any easier as I got older; in fact things became much more complicated. By the age of thirteen, I remember feeling so different and at that age I didn’t have words or concepts to help me identify what I was going through. I think this is an awkward and confusing time for anyone at that age but as I look back I see that I was really struggling with some significant challenges. Aside from what I now believe to be depression that I had been going through, I had also spent a year with a family member that was verbally and physically abusive. Within the next year I would be given cocaine, alcohol, and was sexually assaulted by the parent of a childhood friend.  I would not speak of this again until I was 22.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but how I had once seen myself had been reshaped by my experiences and the stage was being set for my life to change in ways I could have never imagined. I felt as though I had no control over things that happened to me. I became angry; I suppose at some point I thought that anger would protect me from being hurt and that it gave me a sense of control. But the anger only led to more problems, such as me being suspended and even expelled from schools, and more trouble at home.

I began to experiment with many different substances and seemed to find comfort or at least what seemed to be a sense of temporary peace. I attempted to get sober by entering a treatment center at the age of 16 and managed to get clean for two weeks.

By the age of 18 I found myself in the midst of a full blown methamphetamine addiction. I had become an I.V. user and my world had become transformed. By 22 I become homeless for the second time and had been in and out jail several on many occasions. In fact I had just finished a year and a half and was entering a long term treatment program by order of the courts. This time I strung together 5 years of sobriety but found myself homeless and addicted again and facing more challenges with the courts. It seemed as though there was no place for me to go and everyone had given up, including me. I had become uncomfortably comfortable identifying myself with all the labels and judgments of family, friends, and professionals. I literally saw myself as a failure, a junkie, and a criminal with no opportunity to redeem myself and no sense of hope.

I shared my frustrations and my desire for a different life with someone I hardly knew and she spoke of a program called Another Chance. I was skeptical at first because it sounded too good to be true and even if I was accepted I wasn’t sure if I could get clean and stay clean.

In 2006 I entered the program and for the first time in 17 years I began to have real hope that my life could be different. I went through a transformation that year that doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of slowing down. I discovered that I was much bigger than all the labels and ways in which I chose to identify myself. I also came to discover a passion that I never knew existed. I came to realize that I wanted to help people that struggled with some of the same challenges I had. There are so many people out there that need Another Chance. It was at that point that I decided to make it a reality. I started to work for RIAz later that year and never looked back.  This organization saw in me what no one else did, including myself. Last year I purchased my first new vehicle, this year I will be buying my first home, but most importantly I have been given the chance to reconcile with my family and I have become the proud father of an amazing little girl.

Today I humbly serve as the Program Director for Another Chance and Community Building. It is truly a privilege to be able to work with people in a way that recognizes them for who they truly are, strong, able, talented and gifted. I have made it my personal commitment to carry the message of hope and to do my part to break down the stigma associated with people that are struggling with mental health and substance abuse challenges and to serve them in a way that fosters independence, self efficacy, and to help reconnect them to who they truly are.

Our Vision:

To transform the traditional models, services, and the face of the behavioral health system in such a way that it truly leaves not one person behind.