Celestine CARTER
H arvest of Hope is an organization reaching out to recovering addicts in the Baltimore area. As CEO, Robin Lawrence, drew inspiration from the struggles of her father, Robert, a recovering addict. Referred to as the Founding Father, Harvest of Hope inspires addicts to make the change for the better. One person who knows Robert’s struggles is his wife, Celestine Carter. For decades, Carter has been a supportive wife and is there to help him tell his story. Looking at him now, one may never have imagined that he was once an addict, with almost 30 years of sobriety. However, even when he was an addict, he did not let his addiction show. “My husband was what you call a functioning addict,” Carter said. One myth of addiction is that the signs are obvious and an addict cannot hold a job. However, many addicts can lead normal lives and not make their struggles visible. However, to her family, the struggles were anything but invisible. “I was fighting to keep my marriage together while raising my daughter while my husband was battling the disease of
addiction. It was a struggle but I refused to let that disease separate our family”. Her husband worked as a firefighter, with many of his peers not knowing the other battle he was having inside. However, those close to him knew what he faced every day. After achieving sobriety, Robert built several homes for recovering addicts. Recovery homes provide a safe area for addicts who may have nowhere else to turn to. By providing a supportive space for addicts, they can find the strength needed to pick up the pieces of their lives that addiction shattered. Carter’s involvement in Harvest of Hope is through providing support and helping the organization reach its vision. One way she accomplishes this is through telling her family’s story every chance she has. Aside from the willpower to recover, Carter believes God’s influence can help addicts as well. “God turns a Test into a Testimony. What was meant to take my husband out and destroy us, turned around to him helping others who he was once like,” she said. Carter also speaks to the wives of addicts, helping them
emotionally through empathy and telling them that it is possible for a marriage damaged by addiction to recover. Carter knows that many relatives of addicts can feel hopeless and feel defeated. However, by speaking to someone who has gone through those struggles, it is possible for a hopeless relative to see that there is a way out. “I can now encourage them and tell them how treatment and my faith brought us out,” she said. To this day, Carter is the supportive
matriarch of the family, and she hopes she can support those who feel like there is no Hope.
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