One Day at a Time: Julio’s Journey to Recovery

When Julio Martinez woke up in a hospital after surviving an overdose in 2024, the words that came out were simple: “I need help.”

Today, the 58-year-old Freeport resident has an apartment of his own, children and grandchildren in his corner, and a growing sense of purpose. He is rebuilding relationships, learning to navigate grief and helping others find their way toward recovery.

As October marks National Substance Use Prevention Month, Julio is sharing his story to highlight the importance of prevention, connection and access to treatment, with a reminder that it is never too late to ask for help.

Julio’s struggles began in childhood. Growing up in the Bronx surrounded by abuse, he learned to hide his pain. By age 10, he was using alcohol and drugs. Years of substance use strained his relationships, and the death of his son deepened his grief. Heroin use and repeated overdoses followed.

Julio recalls that while unconscious after the overdose in 2024, he could hear his family’s anguish and doctors questioning whether he would survive. For him, this was the turning point, the moment he knew something had to change. When he woke up, he said, “I need help,” and made a promise to himself: When someone offered help, he would keep saying yes.

That decision led him through detox and rehabilitation to Mercy Hospital’s Recovery House. There, he began learning to trust, forgive himself and believe that he mattered.

When his social worker asked about his goal, his answer was clear: He wanted to become “a man of integrity.”

Today, Julio continues that work at Catholic Health’s Mercy Hospital Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic in Garden City, where psychiatric care, individual counseling and group therapy support people with mental health conditions and substance use disorders, including those experiencing both.

For Julio, the clinic is his foundation. Working with psychiatrist Marina Tsoy-Podosenin, MD, the clinic’s medical director, and counselor Julia Paterson, LMHC, he is building tools to maintain his recovery, manage difficult emotions and process the loss of his son.

He is learning that he can be vulnerable without facing his pain alone.

Dr. Tsoy-Podosenin has watched him grow from someone in significant distress into someone who uses his support system and stays engaged in treatment. Paterson describes him as an encouraging presence in groups, helping others feel comfortable opening up.
His commitment reaches beyond the clinic. With support from his Recovery House therapists, Julio helped bring a Narcotics Anonymous meeting to Freeport. He now helps meetings obtain the materials they need to welcome and support others.

He is also rebuilding relationships with his family. One of his biggest changes, he says, is learning to be honest with himself and the people he loves.

Recovery remains a daily commitment. Julio is still grieving, still learning and still showing up. His care team emphasizes that setbacks deserve compassion and a path back to treatment, without judgment or shame.

Julio wants others to know they deserve that support, too.

He asked for help. He kept saying yes. Now, he is building a life he wants to live and helping others believe they can, too.

One day at a time.