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I am 51 years old and became addicted when I was 29 while working as a pharmaceutical sales representative. It was during this time that I met my future husband, who was in medical school at the time. The agreement was that I would go to treatment, get clean and we would live happily ever after. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it turned out.
I stayed clean for a while, but then relapsed. I found out I was pregnant and stayed clean during my pregnancy. However, I went full force into my addiction after I gave birth to my son, Jack. After 2 1/2 years of struggling, my husband divorced me, and I only saw my son every other weekend. I stayed clean for a while, but when I relapsed the next time, I fell into criminal behavior and had to do a total of 16 months in jail. I lost everything: friends, my home, and most importantly, my rights to my son. That was the biggest blow of my life.
When I found Hand UP For Women, I was hopeless and trying to pick up the pieces of what little remained in my life. Hand UP For Women provided me with helpful classes and a network of clean, Christian women that I now call friends. I have received love and support and even got invited to live at Duncan House, the home of the program.
Since then, I was able to land and keep a job I love, working at a treatment center, helping women just like me! I have also received a car through their non-profit, Samaritan Motors, and have dependable, reliable transportation at a super affordable price. I have been clean for almost 3 years now, the longest I have ever been clean! I still don’t get to see my son, but I’m laying the groundwork for a stable future and I couldn’t have done it without Hand UP For Women’s belief in me, and their love, encouragement and support.
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