On 7/13/21, I walked into the doors of Recovery Point Charleston as a very lost and broken person. I had been broken down by the people I had surrounded myself with, had forgotten how to love myself, and had lost all hope that life would get better, I didn’t believe I deserved better. When I first arrived, I didn’t want to be there. I had been forced by a friend to go. That first week of detox a lot of bartering with God took place, but I found it within myself to stay. The girls in the program loved me while I learned to love myself. I learned about how accountability was important for me and those around me. I conquered the trauma of my past and found peace of mind and happiness, but most of all I found hope. When I was a Peer Mentor, I was offered a job as a house leader for a brand new branch of a sober living program. I was so fearful and knew nothing about sober living. I got hired and immediately moved out of state to Pennsylvania to charge the way for Kathy Ireland Recovery Center Sober Living. In that house, I realized I could live on my own, and that I could do anything that I wanted to do in life.

A few months down the road, I got asked to move to New Hampshire to help with the sober living program up there as well. I was so fearful again, but I pushed past that fear and walked into a life I never dreamed possible for myself. 18 months later, I transitioned out of the sober living program and got hired on as a staff member. I now oversee the sober living program. I’m set to graduate college with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the start of the year. I do admissions work for the outpatient treatment center for KiRC. I have the opportunity to grow and become whoever I want to be and have an army of people behind me to support me, but it all began with Recovery Point WV giving me the chance when I didn’t deserve one.