LAKE COUNTY — Michael Maitland, 36, is well-known in Lake County?by police, jail staff, drug dealers and addicts. He started using methamphetamine at age 14.
He came from a loving family with two parents and two brothers, one older and one younger. His father, an electrician, taught his son the family trade. Maitland was expelled from Lower Lake High School as a junior. He spent 20 years enveloped in addiction?in and out of prison and jail. He perfected ways of hustling people and pulling the wool over their eyes.
“I”ve done all kinds of horrific things, and left all kinds of wakes of destruction, I hope to help as many people as I have hurt.” Maitland said.
Today Maitland resides at Hilltop Recovery in the forest above Cobb.
“This place has done wonders for me, I”m proud of that,” he said. “To be ashamed of this would be like hiding a diamond.”
Executive director of Hilltop, Lori Carter-Runyon says Maitland is their “miracle child.”
“It”s people like him who are the reason we continue to do this.” She said.
Maitland entered Hilltop after his release from prison as a part of the Substance Abuse Services Coordination Agency (SASCA). To be eligible through SASCA an inmate must be involved in treatment while in custody. This is true of Maitland. He has three years clean and sober. He”s been at Hilltop for about six months. While in prison Maitland had access to drugs daily. He said he would sit in his cell while one inmate was shooting-up and another was smoking crack. But he didn”t have the desire to do drugs while he was locked up.
“Living in the misery makes it easy to stay clean,” he said. The challenges always came when he was released back in to society. He found it difficult to deal with feelings, like anger, guilt and shame. Metaphorically it was equivalent to living his life with two arms, and the meth served as his left arm?his crutch. He wasn”t sure how to live his life without it. He developed in to an adult as a methamphetamine addict.
He has trust issues, not just with others, but also with himself. Today he accepts life on life”s terms. In the past he admits that he was greedy, he would hold on to everything of value.
“Nobody was safe around me, I wasn”t safe around them. I would rob or steal from anybody, it wasn”t personal. It didn”t mean I didn”t like them. That”s just who I was,” he said. He did time for forgery, fraud, abuse and theft. The revolving door of the prison system seemed an innocuous vacuum for Maitland.
When Maitland arrived at Hilltop, he said he was “freaked out” because he just left prison and he ended up in this place that was so beautiful and the people were so nice. He was suspicious at first. He thought they might be trying to brainwash him. His first two months he clawed through the concepts and fought the ideas. Today he says he would give his life for Lori Carter-Runyon and Ryan Runyon, because they saved his life.
“I feel so good now, a huge weight was lifted. How can you not want to get on that wagon?” He said.
Last week, for the first time in three years, Maitland saw his two children. He told them he loves them. He looks forward to showing them that he loves them. He said their mother did a great job with them.
“She wants them to have their dad, she just doesn”t want me to hurt them anymore,” he said.
It takes responsibility for all of his actions now. He admits that in the past he blamed everyone and everything else for his problems. He blamed the world, parole, his girlfriend and the system.
After 13 years of shutting his family out of his life, citing that they got in the way of his addiction, Maitland contacted his mother, father and brothers. “They are all so supportive. I thank God. That”s how I know there”s a God.” He said. “I feel bad calling my mom sometimes, because she cries, but it is out of happiness, and that”s good.”
He sees himself in the people who just enter Hilltop. He sees himself in the ones who graduated and remain involved. He says he often sees law enforcement while he is working and they ask how he”s doing. He harbors no resentment.
“I know what I did was wrong. I appreciate them (police) who else would look out for my children. I ran from them, evaded them, but ultimately they were trying to help me.” He said that the staff at Lake County Jail went above and beyond in reaching out to him. He knew he had to want to change.
Maitland looks to director Ryan Runyon as himself in the future. Runyon is a person who he describes as “extremely selfless” and he wishes to emulate the character traits.
The difference in his life is attributed to opening up and changing his mind.
“Now I have real friends, people to count on if I need it. They can count on me.”
Maitland says theirs is no particular bottom to hit.
“One guy”s low is another guys low, is the next guys low. We”re all in this together. I tip my hat to Ryan and Lori.”
Maitland is committed to this new life. He plans to remain a part of Hilltop. He said he not only wants to, he needs to.
Mandy Feder can be reached at mfeder@record-bee.com.
