What You Need to Know
New York Giants tight end Darren Waller, a Health Ambassador with Hackensack Meridian Health, visited the Carrier Clinic, where he shared his story about his past substance use disorder, his path to sobriety and the importance of prioritizing mental health. Standing before an audience that included mental health care providers from Carrier and other Hackensack Meridian Health facilities, Waller thanked them for helping to provide a safe space for those who, like him in his younger years, are in a crisis and often feel alone in their struggle.
“Without you guys, there aren’t people like me who have come through these centers and these clinics and have turned their lives around,” Waller told the audience, which also included former Carrier patients and current students of the East Mountain School, “Without you it’s not possible for us to enjoy our lives and feel fulfilled.”
“It’s an important thing for me that people have somewhere to go and feel that they can be cared for,” he said. “I spent most of my early life and into my adult life feeling like there was something wrong with me. It's comforting for me to know there’s a place for young people to go and feel that there’s nothing wrong with them. There may be things that you’re dealing with, there may be things that you’re struggling with, but there’s nothing wrong with you. You are a good person, you are a whole person, you are a person worthy of love, of having success and a life that means something to you and to other people.”
At the age of 15, Waller, who was already making his mark on the high school football team, started stealing pain medication from his parents. Increasingly, he relied on drugs and alcohol as an escape. He kept his “double life,” as he calls it, hidden until it began to unravel during his time in the pros with failed drug tests and suspensions. A nearly fatal fentanyl overdose in his car in 2017 was a life-changing event for Waller, putting him on the path to recovery and sobriety, and a vow to use his story of struggle and staying sober to help others.
Last year Waller said Hackensack Meridian Health was an ideal partner for spreading his message of hope and healing.
“Hackensack Meridian Health has the experts who help people day in and day out,” Waller said, “and the care they have been providing for more than 100 years at Carrier is making a difference every day in the mental health and addiction space. We genuinely have a shared passion to change lives.”
