Finding Community and Purpose: Curtis's Journey Through Challenge and Change
- Here and Now
- Aug 11
- 4 min read
Curtis speaks with quiet enthusiasm about the master's program in disability counseling he's completing at the University of Washington. At 62, he's preparing for what he calls his biggest career pivot yet—from mechanical engineering and construction to helping newly injured people navigate the complex terrain he's learned to traverse himself over the past six and a half years.
When Professional Support Isn't Enough
Six and a half years ago, Curtis experienced a serious accident while working on a project in Kauai. What followed was a complex recovery involving multiple hospitalizations and ultimately a spinal cord injury that would fundamentally change his life's trajectory.
The healthcare system that followed presented significant challenges, including inadequate care in some facilities and multiple transitions between living situations. Even when he found adequate care, something crucial was missing: connection with people who truly understood his experience.
Finding What Was Missing
Curtis discovered the Here and Now Project through his girlfriend, who found the organization while searching for additional support resources. What he found there was something that had been absent from all his medical appointments and case management sessions: "Just having other people that can understand what it's like to be in a wheelchair."
At H&NP meetings and resource fairs, he encountered stories that resonated with his own experience. "I fell in love with this group—it’s amazing," Curtis says. "Hearing people’s stories and what they’ve been through to reach a place where they feel like they have their life back is powerful."
The Questions You Can't Ask Anywhere Else
What sets H&NP apart, Curtis says, is the openness that comes from shared experience. “One of the things I like most is the friendship and camaraderie. You can ask any question you want—anything goes.”
After his accident, he lost touch with many extended family members, and the connections he’s built through H&NP have become an important part of his life. “It’s a great place to get information, meet new people who can cheer you up, stay motivated, and have someone to talk to. It’s huge.”
Curtis says he shares it with everyone he meets who might benefit: “Whenever I meet someone who uses a wheelchair, I tell them about the Here and Now Project.” For him, the most meaningful moments are the honest conversations—ones that might feel awkward in clinical settings but come naturally among peers who truly understand.
What the Here and Now Project Offers:
Regular support group meetings where lived experience guides the conversation
Resource fairs connecting members with services, equipment, and opportunities
Peer connections that extend beyond formal meetings into genuine friendships
Safe space for any questions - from practical daily living to emotional processing
Community for individuals who may be experiencing isolation
Information sharing (DAC-WA)
From Surviving to Thriving: A New Challenge Approach
Before his accident, Curtis had built a life around tackling complex projects. He'd worked in mechanical engineering, alternative energy, and construction—building houses from scratch, creating artwork installations, and constantly seeking new challenges. "I love to challenge myself. I made it as hard as I could to just challenge myself," he explains.
When his spinal cord injury occurred, Curtis approached it with the same mindset, but now with community support backing him up. "When I had this accident, I didn't go through the anger/sad phase, but a 'this is a new challenge' phase. This is by far the biggest challenge I've ever had, and I'll do whatever I can to succeed in it."
That drive, combined with what he learned through H&NP about advocacy and system navigation, led him to recognize a crucial need: helping others navigate the systems he had struggled to understand. "From my experiences, figuring out how to get what you need isn’t easy. I wasn’t always comfortable speaking up for myself —it took me several years to learn how to advocate, find the right support, keep going, and understand how the system works."
Paying It Forward
Curtis’s goal is to work in a hospital setting, supporting people who are newly injured through the toughest phases of recovery. “You go through different stages—anger, sadness, acceptance—and I want to help people through them,” he says. He knows that community support can fill gaps clinical care alone can’t address. “This new reality is as good or as bad as you make it, but connecting with others who understand can make all the difference.”
The lessons he’s learned—about the value of being around others who “get it,” the openness to ask any question, and the way community offers both practical resources and genuine understanding—will guide how he supports others. For Curtis, places like H&NP are spaces where people can build meaningful lives, contribute to others, and find connection and purpose in circumstances they never anticipated. His story is a reminder that healing and growth often come from both personal determination and the strength of community.
Ready to learn more? Visit our Events page to see upcoming meetings and community events (including our Resource Expo that is coming up this September!). Like Curtis discovered, sometimes the support you need most is the kind that comes from people who've walked a similar path.