WEBVTT

0
00:00:00.009 --> 00:00:01.629
I was homeless.

1
00:00:01.639 --> 00:00:05.869
I was living on the streets, living in abandoned houses, buildings,

2
00:00:05.880 --> 00:00:07.429
wherever I could find shelter.

3
00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:09.710
I lost absolutely everything in my life.

4
00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:14.640
I was hanging out with, you know, a lot of the wrong people. My family wasn't around.

5
00:00:15.289 --> 00:00:15.989
I,

6
00:00:16.450 --> 00:00:20.520
I didn't love myself. I didn't even like myself, wasn't anywhere close to that.

7
00:00:20.930 --> 00:00:21.750
So

8
00:00:22.180 --> 00:00:25.030
therefore the people that I surrounded myself with,

9
00:00:25.040 --> 00:00:27.909
I felt like I didn't deserve any better than that.

10
00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:29.780
My way out was actually

11
00:00:30.069 --> 00:00:31.360
when I got arrested,

12
00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:36.180
I was in county for a while and I still wasn't ready to change.

13
00:00:36.189 --> 00:00:39.110
I still thought I could do it on my own without support of anybody.

14
00:00:40.130 --> 00:00:41.040
And

15
00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:44.430
after that I, I went to IBH and

16
00:00:44.700 --> 00:00:46.470
that was my second time at IBH.

17
00:00:46.689 --> 00:00:49.380
I think one of my biggest challenges was

18
00:00:49.549 --> 00:00:52.349
at first entering the Turning Point Program and

19
00:00:52.849 --> 00:00:56.639
sober living, there was a lot of people telling me what to do, how to do it,

20
00:00:56.650 --> 00:00:58.299
when to do it, why to do it.

21
00:00:58.520 --> 00:01:02.400
And I really struggled with that because for so long I thought I could do it on my own.

22
00:01:02.680 --> 00:01:04.830
You know, I didn't know that the

23
00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:08.349
help and the resources were there to actually help me.

24
00:01:08.360 --> 00:01:12.410
One of the big things for me was getting a sponsor. I was always against it.

25
00:01:12.419 --> 00:01:14.510
Like I, I thought that I didn't need anybody

26
00:01:15.419 --> 00:01:16.239
and

27
00:01:16.459 --> 00:01:20.430
that helped me. Working the steps helped me. Being at ARC really helped me.

28
00:01:20.440 --> 00:01:24.279
The Friday Night ARC meetings were amazing and just the people there,

29
00:01:24.449 --> 00:01:26.400
you know, were all trying to do the same thing,

30
00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:31.400
you know, to do the right thing. I was excited to tell the Judge...Jillian...Megan.

31
00:01:31.779 --> 00:01:33.989
You know that I, hey, I did the right thing today.

32
00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:37.220
Hey, I did this, you know, and it just kept me on the right track for a long time.

33
00:01:37.230 --> 00:01:39.519
I needed that. I didn't know that I needed that, but I did,

34
00:01:40.129 --> 00:01:44.970
I found, you know, a sense of community there. After that, I

35
00:01:45.510 --> 00:01:49.550P
went into sober living in the Turning Point Program took me under their wing.

36
00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:51.639
I was there for about a year.

37
00:01:51.830 --> 00:01:55.839
So little by little I started to get, you know, things back in my life.

38
00:01:55.849 --> 00:01:59.720
My kids started coming back around, I was able to see them

39
00:01:59.959 --> 00:02:00.739
and

40
00:02:02.489 --> 00:02:03.120
just again,

41
00:02:03.129 --> 00:02:06.779
the sense of community that I felt with the Turning Point Trogram and with,

42
00:02:07.169 --> 00:02:08.190
with ARC,

43
00:02:09.407 --> 00:02:11.988
I started to get my life back a little at a time.

44
00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:14.649
Coming out from under addiction.

45
00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:20.649
You know, you have a new set of problems and a new set of worry. But now I know that I can

46
00:02:21.399 --> 00:02:25.100
get through them. You know, I have my kids back in my life.

47
00:02:25.110 --> 00:02:28.639
I have a home, I work with the community and I help people

48
00:02:28.809 --> 00:02:31.740
that were in my position, you know, and I can say, hey,

49
00:02:32.179 --> 00:02:33.020
I've been there,

50
00:02:33.539 --> 00:02:36.130
you know, I can help you out of this. There's a way out.

51
00:02:36.539 --> 00:02:40.419
I have my kids back in my life. Like I'm able to be a mom today.

52
00:02:40.710 --> 00:02:45.399
I'm able to take them to, you know, their soccer games, their track, their softball,

53
00:02:45.410 --> 00:02:48.320
all of those things while still taking care of myself

54
00:02:48.330 --> 00:02:51.100
and helping these other people out in the community.

55
00:02:51.600 --> 00:02:53.100
I never thought that

56
00:02:53.619 --> 00:02:54.860
I would be doing that.

57
00:02:55.320 --> 00:02:58.889
Give yourself a chance, you know, it's never too late to

58
00:02:59.149 --> 00:03:00.339
start recovering.