GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - There was a time when Byron Walker wasn't sure if he was going to make it.
"I've made some bad choices in life...it was substance, drugs, being young and determined to be the man," says Walker.
But after becoming a father, Walker knew he had to change.
"If you don't have character, you can't give character, so I couldn't be out here and be a role model to my children doing the wrong thing," says Walker.
Walker says the first right thing he did was walk into the Heartside Health Center in downtown Grand Rapids. That's where he met counselors and doctors like James Hudson.
"The key really is the patient coming to the conclusion that they need to stop," says Hudson.
On Tuesday night, the clinic hosted an event for patients that have overcome their addiction.
"I'm celebrating 29 years of sobriety from drugs," says Walker.
Heartside has a team of medical staff and other professionals that can help. But even with that care, Dr. Hudson warns the journey is difficult.
"Alcohol and drugs do help you not to think about your problems and that avoidance is one of the main things we have as a coping mechanism," says Hudson.
Walker is proof that change is possible and he now uses his time to urge others to do the same.
"I went down the wrong road and ended up where I was at, in the lost and found, but then I walked into this doctor's office and was claimed," says Walker.
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