Welcome

The Dalton Lee Condra Gift of Kindness Foundation

In Memory of Dalton L. Condra
Helping others fight addiction through kindness, education, hope, and harm reduction.

Dalton's Story

Young man in a gray jacket standing in a lush garden with a waterfall.

Who Is Dalton?

Dalton was born 8/23/1996 in Indianapolis, Indiana and was the oldest of 4 children. From a young age he loved animals, enjoyed drawing, hanging with his friends, and as he got older he loved old school NES, Xbox & watching Anime.

His father and I got divorced when he was just 5 and so myself, Dalton and his little brother Jared moved to Ohio where I stayed with my parents. Dalton was already "Pa's" best friend and he wanted to be just like him, he even cut pretend glasses from black construction paper so he had glasses like his Pa! I have plenty of pictures of them in the photo album page. Dalton and his Pa remained extremely close his entire life. When Dalton was about 7 I remarried and we moved to my new husband's home state of New York (upstate). Now with hindsight I think this was a big mistake on my part because my dad, Pa, was his father figure and truly his best friend. It affected Dalton more then he let on at the time.

In NY, Dalton and his brother Jared spent the summers with their dad going on vacations and enjoying summertime. He loved his school in NY and his grades were good! He met some good friends there that he stayed in contact into adulthood. We only lived in NY for 7 years. I realized my sweet little boy was a teen now and was acting out. His bio father and I thought it might help to have a new start. So we packed up and moved to Indiana, my patents were happy because that was only 2½ hour drive back & forth. Dalton went into 9th grade and he met several friends, he liked to skate board & prank people and try to drive his younger brother completely insane.

Once in Indiana I could tell his was changing himself to fit in with these friends. He started talking like them, only would wear American Eagle, lol. Playing pranks that got him into trouble at school and home. But I knew that was not my son, my son was always a "hippy" or "old soul", he didn't care about clothes and brands, he liked more worn things, he enjoyed listening to 70s rock, "Don't Fear the Reaper" being a big favorite, he didn't enjoy rap. It was around that time I found out he was stealing from these big name stores. When I found out, I was disappointed but he spilled it all to me then. He didn't know why he changed who he was to fit in and he was very upset and confused. So, we decide to may look into some mental health help.

Now, I get angry with this part. When Dalton was 6½ he was sexually abused by a 14 year old babysitters brother. Dalton told his Pa about 30 days later. We went to the police, we pressed charges, I never doubted him, I had him in with the best adolescent sexual abuse therapist in that part of NY. She was wonderful and he saw her for the entire 7 years we lived there. By the time we were moving we were seeing her 1 time a month bc she felt he had made wonderful progress. Well now he's 14 and we go talk to his pediatrician, he's feeling depressed, he feels fake, he feels like a loser, he feels he don't belong- like he was born in the wrong decade. He was put on zoloft 25mg. He really didn't feel he needed therapy, so I didn't push. That summer break he got away from those friends, he didn't think the zoloft helped, so during the next year or so we tried 6 SSRIs with him feeling no real help. Then he smoked weed. He felt that worked perfect, he felt better about himself, his anxiety was gone so he could talk and hang out with people so the self medicating started and he stopped his meds. Now when we would go to a psychiatrist they refused to even help him because he was smoking the weed. Even though he was starting to do a little more then weed here and there, he used weed to help the mental health issue, the only thing that made him feel "normal" and they refused to treat him unless it was out of his system. He stopped for 2 weeks and we went back, they tested his urine, still was positive. So couldn't get help. Rehabs were not an option because he told them he was only doing weed, he didn't tell them he was smoking it every chance he could, that he was drinking cough syrup, and would take a pill someone would give him for $5 and assume they told the truth on what it was.

At the end of his junior year, he hated his school & most the people in it and he asked if he could move to Ohio and live with his Pa & Grandma. We all discussed it for awhile. We all agreed.

So end of junior year he moved to Orient, Ohio and lived in my parent's extra room. He felt like it was home, he had his Pa & no 3 siblings driving him crazy. He did online school and got best grades. He got a car & was working part time, but my dad was becoming worried, he would sneak out at night and sneak back in. He had a job but never had gas money. They obviously smelled the weed, which went from a 1 hitter to a bong where he smoked "wax". But, he graduated and he tried to weasel out of going to his school graduation, I put my foot down!! All those years of homework, flash cards, early morning drives bc he missed the bus, dealing with the Vice Principal when him & his friends thought it was hilarious to throw cheese slices off the burgers on the bathroom mirrors and take the ketchup and mustard packets and place them perfectly between the toliet seat & base so when someone sat down they squirted all over them. (I have to admit I thought that was kinda funny but as a mom it was a no).

So as I said, while in high school he started experimenting with drugs like weed/wax and drinking cough syrup, but over the next 10 years he found he preferred benzos. Alot of benzos, he was ordering stuff online even, from God know where and having things shipped to a friend's or co-workers house do none of us knew. Although he tried many, many times to get clean through rehabs and sober living facilities, which is how we all found out how bad he had become and what all he was taking or tried. He did well several times, but unfortunately he lost his fight and died 11/4/2022 due to accidental fentanyl poisoning. He was only 26 years old and been fighting addiction for over 10 years.

Dalton was very loving young man that would do anything he could for someone, but like 40 million kids like him, he struggled to help himself. He told his family that he knew what he was doing, but his knowledge failed him. He always said he felt he was fighting an evil, like when he was on drugs he'd hallucinate himself on tv with armor on trying to fight a black, evil, nasty dragon and off he could defeat the dragon it would be all over, no more wanting the drugs, no more needing them, he'd be free. He is free now, it's not the way we wanted him to be free but perhaps it was the only way to make sure he felt truly, 100% free.

In honor of Dalton, we, his family has started this foundation to help others and their families with the epidemic of drug and alcohol abuse. In his name maybe others can be saved.

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What Will My Donation Be Used For

In the beginning we want to help those fighting addiction with small grants for food, clothing, etc. in Ohio and South Carolina. We also pass out Narcan & fentany testing strips (these can be mailed)

We want to tell Dalton''s story in the hope that it helps other families before it is too late.

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The Future

In time, through partnerships with other organizations and families like ours, we hope to advocate for the 40 million families effected by addition at local, state and even federal levels. As well as bringing focus on those organizations practicing best practices. Dalton, like many of your struggling loved one, was using drugs and alcohol to numb his body because of the mental and physical struggles he was involved in. We can do better, we must do better.