Becoming Stable
Christian mothers. Their discipline taught me how to raise my newborn child. After a year there, I got into a transitional program, and that was good progress for me. I had an apartment, kept up with my medical appointments, and attended my counseling sessions. That allowed me to save money, go back to school, get a job, and get back on my feet. When I became stable, I received visitation for my other three children. Going through family counseling with them revealed a lot of anger and trauma from my oldest kids. I didn’t know how to explain to them how I couldn’t keep them when they were younger but was able to change my life and path after giving birth to my youngest daughter. I had to learn to deal with that. My youngest daughter is 26 now, so I’m 26 years sober. I found a lot of support through AA meetings. I went to church and befriended older women I knew wouldn’t influence me to return to my previous way of life. After receiving a nudge from God to start missionary work, I left my job to be able to fully assist people going through alcohol and drug treatment. People around me saw my work and consistently encouraged me to become a social worker. I went to school to get my license. Ever since then, I’ve been working in this field. For me, I like to challenge my clients and what they believe. Whatever happened in their life challenged them, and they didn’t know how to work through that challenge. I have to figure out what that is so I can help them learn what they need to. We have to help people change for the environment they’re in, and I want to use my story to strengthen them to do that.” - CAROLYN GREENE “I don’t want to live like this anymore. I want help.”
“I started drinking at the age of 12. My parents had several after-hour joints, so alcohol was readily available. By 13, I’d started using marijuana. I participated in street life, sold drugs, and went through a lot of traumas because of it. When I was 17, I was kidnapped and later had my first child after I was raped. I was on drugs throughout that pregnancy, just like I was during my other three. When I was pregnant with my youngest child, people often said they didn’t want to sell to me and aid in the damage I was doing to my unborn baby. So I decided I was going to rob someone to get what I wanted. There was a part of me that knew I was wrong, but there was also a part of me that couldn’t correct it. I robbed them and got high for two weeks straight. One day I was sitting in the drug house, and I heard what I now know was God telling me I was going to die like that if I didn’t change something. I later agreed to go to a clinic in the neighborhood. The people there looked at me like I was crazy. I was hallucinating from being high for 14 days straight. I’d been there so many times throughout my other pregnancies and stolen so much from the clinic that the doctor refused to see me. But I just sat there. I knew this clinic was my only hope. Eventually, a social worker walks up to me and asks, ‘What do you want us to do for you?’ Something about her voice broke me down. I told her, ‘I don’t want to live like this anymore. I want help.’ That’s when they finally took me in. During my examination, they found 14 drugs in my system. The doctors told me they couldn’t help me and their only choice was to admit me to the psych ward. ‘I don’t care,’ I told them. They handcuffed me to the bed, and from that point began my journey to recovery. As I began to sober up, I was able to reflect on the decisions I’d made. I was feeling remorse for all the things I’d done. After leaving the psych ward, I was connected with a home run by older
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