In Her Own Words

Six years ago in June I had abandoned my two young children and left them with my mother. I was homeless living in a crack house. I was a thief, a liar, unemployable, not a member of society. I was paranoid, exhausted, argumentative, and nothing was making sense anymore. I was in total despair losing all reality. I couldn’t differentiate between true and false.

I was stopped at a red light, within that instant, from the light turning red to green, I finally admitted to myself that I had enough and asked God to help me. It came from my heart and I felt an enlightenment that I had never experienced before. There was an acceptance of who and what I was for the first time. The next thing I knew I was admitting myself into a psychiatric facility. I never wanted to kill myself. I just didn’t want to go on living. I was released 7 days later and my mother agreed to allow me back home with my children.

I just knew it wasn’t going to be enough; the situation I had created for myself and my children was unbearable. The only thing that would free me from the bondage was change. I had to make a major decision about my life. I felt such a strong inner feeling that if I did not grab this chance and hold on for dear life, I could lose myself forever and never make it back. So I signed myself into a long term treatment facility.

After completion of that program, I entered The Family Afterward and that is where I learned who I was and how to live. I became a woman of dignity, grace and respect there. I learned how to be independent, budget and save money, set goals and obtain them, be a productive member of society and give back to the community. I learned responsibility, gratitude and respect. I formed friendships and was capable of having a relationship with my family, and most of all, the greatest gift, was having my own home with my children. They were not only in my life, but I was finally able to give them a life filled with love, stability, structure and discipline. The world still doesn’t always make sense to me, however my life does today.

Thank you Family Afterward for giving me a life worth living!!