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I am thirty years old--a veteran, a mother and suffer from severe PTSD. I'm also a recently released "inmate", but most importantly - I am a child of God.
Through nearly two years of recovery, all seemed well. I was working toward gaining custody of my three-year-old twins. I was in college full time, had two home churches, active in an outreach ministry, and was a week away from finally ridding myself of an earned seat in the criminal justice system.
In the blink of an eye, I relapsed and ended up homeless on the streets of Cleveland with a MRSA infection. The VA medical staff expedited my name to the top of the Women's Treatment Program. After completion, I faced the criminal justice system.
I chose Women of Hope upon release for several reasons. I knew the program was faith based and the staff had a strong faith and had found their purpose in life. With that said, my experience has shown nothing less. My recovery requires many individual needs, and a certain kind of guidance that the women at Women of Hope give freely. The Women of Hope program stands firmly on God's Word while helping women in need. God's Word tells me that I am not defined by my mistakes, that He knows the plan He has for my life, a good plan. God's Word says that He will use my mistakes, and all that I've suffered in life, to help someone else, that I am His best craftsmanship, am a part of a family, and that I am loved!
I am not an inmate. I am not a failure, a bad mother, a junkie, or unlovable. I am a child of God and the Women of Hope helps me validates that every day.
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