Heather’s Story I grew up with a lot of chaotic behavior in my family. I had a large extended family and most of the time we all lived together, so that multiplied the chaos. Even at a very young age, I recognized that there were a lot of problems in my family. My mother suffered with a lot of issues, several different addictions and mental illness. My mother was very loving at times, but often became a monster to me and my siblings. My biological father was a lot of things, but a good father was not one of them. When I was a very little girl, he shattered my self worth and innocence in one gesture. My grandparents had to play a big part in raising me. I found love, acceptance, and security in them, though the chaos was always there. I adored my grandfather; he was my father figure. In the eyes of a child that so desperately needed a hero, I placed him on a pedestal and he could do no wrong. I was 19 years old when he died. When I lost him, my world came crashing down into heaps onto my broken heart. I had experimented with a variety of drugs by this time in my life, and had just recently stumbled upon cocaine. I had used it recreationally up until this point but when he died I began to use it to numb me and silence my pain. I had no idea where this path would take me. I didn’t think that far ahead. I just needed not to feel, and the drugs did that for awhile. Eventually, instead of making the pain better though, the drugs created more pain. I was using drugs and alcohol in large quantities and potentially lethal doses. For 12 years, I rode the crazy train of addiction. Finally, I reached my bottom when my destructive lifestyle led me to jail for my third DUI. I was 8 months pregnant with my second child. My oldest was only 15 months old and, because of my severe drug and alcohol abuse, Social Services had removed her from my care. In jail I realized how lost I was - without anyone or anything to help me. I cried out to God from the depths of my despair and He delivered me and led me to Freedom House.

The day I walked into the door of Freedom House as a brand new resident, I knew it was going to make a difference in my life. Freedom House has done more than make a difference; they’ve helped create a miracle. God has used Freedom House to restore the desolate places in my life through the love and support of the people involved. I have never known love like I’ve experienced this past year. Freedom House has not just changed my life; they have given me a new one. I now have both of my children and I am learning everyday how to be the mother that God purposed me to be. I have met all my legal obligations and God blessed me with a wonderful job working for some of the most awesome Christians I’ve ever met. For the first time in my life, I have true motivation and ambition. My confidence is now in my God and His love for me. This year has been challenging, to say the least, but at the same time, very rewarding. I have learned who I am and most importantly who God designed me to be. I learned how to love and I learned how to grieve, but I am definitely still a work in progress.  My future looks bright and exciting to me as I continue my work and move to my very own apartment with my children for the first time. With the help of God and all the staff and volunteers of Freedom House, I have achieved more goals in one year than I have ever achieved in my entire life! I am so proud of myself and so grateful for the support I had to stick in there and complete the Freedom House program. I plan to stay very active in the Freedom House aftercare program for the next 12 months to continue to work on my recovery and hopefully to give back to others who are so lost like

Brandy’s Story My mom was seventeen when I was born. She worked and was still in school, and so she was never home. She didn’t have a relationship with my father and I had always dreamed of meeting him and seeing what he was like. He was already my hero, and I just knew getting to know him would make my family life complete. When I was thirteen my dream of meeting my father came true. He had remarried and seemed to be doing well, so my Mom decided it would be okay for me to go stay with him on weekends. Instead of being the father I had always hoped for, he crumbled my life into a million pieces. I didn't have a father, I had a monster. He abused me time after time. He would make me do vulgar things to him that really upset and confused me. He would call me dirty names and make me drive from bar to bar while he picked up women. He told me never to tell my mom. Finally I decided to never go to his house again but I went down into a deep hole of depression. I drowned myself with drugs to keep myself from acknowledging the pain and confusion that took place in my soul from those events. The thing I forgot the most, though, was who I was. I didn’t feel I knew right from wrong and I even started selling drugs and getting in trouble with the law. I met my first real boyfriend when I was twenty years old. I moved in with him and he bought me whatever I wanted. After a couple months he started getting curious about the pills I was using and started using himself. We used together for eighteen months until one morning I woke up and found him dead in the bed beside me. All I could think was that his death was my fault. When I was twenty-four I had my first child. She was taken from me by Social Services and my mother was granted temporary custody until I could get my life straightened out. I went to a methadone clinic to get help. It was a legal drug that I could take and work on getting my daughter back.

It was my first attempt to change my destructive lifestyle but it didn’t work because I still felt I needed more drugs. I had two more children in two years before I decided again to try to get help. In November of 2008 I went to Freedom House with the hope of reclaiming my children, my life, myself. Freedom House gave me so much love and hope. I learned how to parent my children with discipline and love, how to love myself again and to rely on God. I learned how to work again, how to manage money, make reasonable decisions, and deal with the pain in my past. Freedom House gave me all the tools I needed to stay sober. Now I am the Resident Supervisor at Freedom House and have two of my precious children living with me. I also have a job as a hair stylist, which has been a desire I've had for a long time. I have values, responsibilities, and expectations of myself that I would have never dreamed possible. I also have a bank account, a driver's license, and people who trust me. I attend a church that I love and have gained back the family I lost during my addiction. I know who I am and I have a great relationship with my children. I also have God as my Father, my Savior, and best friend. He has given me hope and faith in a life that I thought was impossible for me and my family. I give Him all the glory! Please consider helping Freedom House to give to other families what they gave me, a chance to redeem my life and put all the pieces back together again.

Wendy’s Story I was born to a very hurting and dysfunctional family. At the age of fourteen they no longer wanted me and I was placed in a foster home. I was abused there and my life continued to spiral out of control. I began to turn to drugs and alcohol to ease my pain. After two failed marriages and years of going in and out of drug use, I found myself behind bars. One night in a drug frenzy, I had committed a crime. I was homeless, hopeless, and on the verge of losing my precious boys and going to prison. I reached out to Freedom House and asked for help. I had a hard time at first trusting the love that was shown me through the staff and all the volunteers. I had a hard time believing the Lord loved me and mostly had a hard time forgiving myself. I did learn to trust God’s love and others in time and through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ I know I am forgiven of all the wrong I have ever done. My changed outlook on life helped me to complete the entire 12-month program and in 2007, I became the first Freedom House graduate.

Today, I walk in that love every day sharing it with others. I now have a genuine enthusiasm for life. I have my sons back, volunteer at their school and I am in my fourth semester at college. I also work full-time at Freedom House and have the opportunity daily to share with the new Freedom House families who are in need of hope for their future. No one is a better encouragement to them of what the Lord can do through their hard work and a sound program that teaches them how to be strong mothers who can lead their families.