“I hit bottom when, high on meth and alcohol, I caused a bad car accident. I went to jail and my children were taken from me. I wanted my kids back and knew this wasn’t the life I wanted, so the day after I got out of jail I came to the Pitino Shelter.”
My mom and Dad were both addicts and split up when I was an infant. My mom was in and out of abusive relationships through much of my growing up years.
As a young teenager I began sneaking into bars with friends, drinking, smoking marijuana, and taking pills. I knew from the moment I took my first hit, I was an addict. I just didn’t know or understand what that meant.
By age 15 I took pills daily, tried cocaine for the first time, and attempted suicide. At 18 and then again at 20 I became pregnant and stayed clean during both pregnancies, but within months after each birth I began using meth and alcohol daily. I stopped paying bills, and we were evicted 3 times in 4 months.
I hit bottom when, high on meth and alcohol, I caused a bad car accident. I went to jail and my children were taken from me.
I wanted my kids back and knew this wasn’t the life I wanted, so the day after I got out of jail I came to the Pitino Shelter.
They helped me get into a 30 day rehab program at RCD. I graduated and Pitino held a bed open for me. While living at Pitino I continued to do aftercare through RCD and on May 8th I regained custody of my children.
My kids and I live in transitional housing here at Pitino, I work, and am going to college this fall and I’ve been clean for eight months!