This is a two-fold testimony. One phase is about how Dan McDaniel, 40, traveled through four States and upwards of a dozen hospitals in futile attempts at detoxification, until he finally cried out to God for deliverance. Now that he is born-again and victorious over his addiction, this story also includes how Dan is achieving his own plans for a future in clinical social work through the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), with a perfect 4.0 Grade-Point-Average (GPA)!

The second story here is about the men of the Birmingham Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) in Alabama, and how Dan’s ministry to them during his five years of sobriety is helping them along in theirs.

“Dan went from being a homeless addict on the streets of Birmingham to becoming an inspiration to all of us,” says Richard Ballenger, who works alongside Dan as the assistant-resident manager at the ARC. “He is always helping the men. Just today, he was able to get 30 football tickets from UAB to give to the men! He has a heart for The Salvation Army, and he loves what he does.”

While Dan employs paternalism — helping each one do for themselves instead of doing for them — in supervising the men, Dan is always looking for ways to build relationships, like the time he took a small group of guys on a hike on one of Birmingham’s “Rails To Trails.”

“It was my day off, and I was looking forward to relaxing in my room,” says Jeffrey Puckett (11 months sober at this writing). “He told me, ‘Get up, we’re going hiking!’ Let me tell you, I don’t hike, but that day was one of the best times for me!”

Scotty Williams (16 years sober) recognizes Dan’s relatability with the men, saying, “He’s a really big deal around here!”

“Dan McDaniel is one busy dude,” another coworker adds. “When he’s not working here at the center as Resident Manager, he’s attending classes at UAB or studying, and on Thursdays, he volunteers at a local non-profit seniors’ center.”

In 2025, he completes his bachelors in social work degree, and by August, he will commence his work at UAB toward his masters in social work with eventual Clinical Certification.

But before 2019, when Dan entered the ARC program, his life was anything but bright. He was never addicted to drugs, but alcohol introduced a downward spiral that began while he was first in college some 20 years ago. His drinking really began as part of the “college culture” that was so prevalent.

“The problem was,” he explains, “I wasn’t taking my studies seriously; but obviously my friends were, because they started graduating — and I was not!”

In fact, he adds, by the time he quit college, his GPA was so low it only added to his self-loathing. He was able to pick up good cooking skills, which kept financing his constant purchase of vodka as he went from job to job, each lasting only as long as his drunken stupors allowed.

He often woke up in hospital detox units, including two separate occasions when he was hospitalized for two weeks at the point of death.

“That second one should’ve killed me,” the doctors later told him.

Wandering from state to state, and from relationship to relationships, at one point, Dan was working at a Georgia restaurant in Dunwoody, making decent money, but using two heavy-duty garbage bags to crawl into every night just to sleep on a bed of rocks behind a wall bordering that restaurant.

“I had to cut a hole in one of the bags so I could breathe! That lasted a few months, and it was among the worst I ever experienced.”

Dan’s final low came while homeless and staying in a downtown Birmingham park “behind this huge rock that overlooked two softball fields.” He adds that when he felt particularly insecure, he learned how to turn on the bright lights in both fields, “which probably cost the city thousands of dollars, with no apparent activity going on!” He bathed in a cold stream that ran through the park.

He was 35 at this time, and his life, he knew, amounted to “absolutely nothing.”

Dan confesses that one night he sat on that huge rock and wept.

“I cried out to God to somehow deliver me, or else I would just go ahead and end my life!” Then he noticed the lights and siren of an ambulance that was stopping near one of the ballfields.

“I walked down the hill and up to the paramedics and told them that I was going to kill myself,” Dan says. “They took me to the UAB Hospital — my last hospital, it turned out.” He wouldn’t be discharged for two weeks.

That’s because someone recommended to Dan that he give the ARC at the nearby Salvation Army a try.

“That fellow offered to take me there and even promised to come get me if I decided I didn’t like it!”

Dan’s dad, Danny McDaniel, has been a lifelong hero to the young man. But Major Allen Tanner (then) Birmingham ARC administrator, was quickly added as a mentor. Both men remain a pinnacle of importance in Dan’s life.

Once Dan surrendered to God, his progress in recovery as well as scholastically was incredible. Instead of buying a car, Dan wisely bought a bicycle, “because everything I need is within pedaling distance — like within ten blocks here in downtown Birmingham” — UAB (where he attends university), the grocery, medical offices, and even the McCoy Adult Day Care, where he volunteers every week.

Moreover, he is a sterling example to the men of what God can accomplish in a life surrendered to His will.

“I love weekends — well, most of them anyway (laughs). Weekends can be rough, but a lot of times I can shoot pool with the guys or watch a movie with them. Some of the guys stop by my office to chat, so I get a lot of one-on-one moments with them.”

Mornings begin at 4:30, when Dan spends quiet time in the chapel before the workday ahead. Any issues that arise during the day come directly to him. He prepares the worship service pamphlets for Sunday mornings, the PowerPoint for congregational songs, and prints the words on song sheets for the Praise & Worship Team. Four times each week, he makes it to a nearby gym for workouts.

Miraculously, no deadly health concerns that often accompany alcohol addiction seem to be apparent. 

“It’s so crazy how alcohol got such a hold of me, and God brought me through in pretty fair shape. When you are living in the woods, you have no money, you have no hope, and you have no self-esteem.

“But here I’ve found the Lord, along with hope and faith, which is the foundation everyone needs — without that, you’re just stagnant, not even making lateral moves because you don’t think anything good can ever happen.”

Dan gives God the glory for the ongoing progress he’s made in these years at the ARC. Each progression serves to further motivate him for the next step.

“I encourage all the guys to do well, and keep doing what you’re doing, and I tell them if you hit a roadblock, that’s okay — just stay patient, keep fighting the good fight, build on your faith, keep doing what you’re supposed to do, and by faith in God things will work out!”