Before you can help others, you have to take care of yourself. Sarah (33) struggled with addiction for years. In 2018, she found out she was pregnant with her daughter Aubrianna and knew she wanted her life to change, so she went to inpatient treatment. She stayed sober for two years before relapsing and seeking inpatient treatment again. After treatment, in 2021, she moved into Haven Housing @ Ascension Place, a sober transitional housing program for single women and non-binary people.
The National Institutes of Health estimate that 40% to 60% of people in recovery from substance use disorder will relapse. This is similar to the number of people struggling to manage other chronic medical conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure (Hazelden Betty Ford). What’s important is that people have the resources, support network, and coping skills to help them recover when they are ready.
Haven Housing @ Ascension Place was one resource that was important for Sarah. There, she found a respite. Sarah says she was given a second chance to work on getting sober while completing outpatient treatment. She shared, “I decided I was going to do the right things because my daughter was getting older.” She wanted to be a role model for her daughter, but first, she needed to care for herself. She said, “I did want to get sober for [my daughter], but it had to be me really wanting to do it for me.”
Sarah sought out the support of those around her. She started attending community meetings at Haven Housing @ Ascension Place community meetings, church, and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. She built friendships with other Haven Housing participants and found a part-time job. She fondly remembers that during this time, she also had her daughter visit her at Ascension Place on Saturdays. Sarah said, “I felt really good about myself, and I was like, ‘Well, after a year living [at Haven Housing], I want more.’”
Sarah’s goal was to create a safe and stable home so her daughter could join her again. To do that, Sarah decided to pursue a career in healthcare. With assistance from EMERGE, in December 2022, Sarah began the Certified Nursing Assistant Program at the American Heart Association. Some of her courses were virtual, and she relied on laptops provided by Haven Housing to complete her program. She recalls with a smile, “I was so proud of myself for doing that.”
Sarah received support from Haven Housing staff, who celebrated her daily efforts, asked about her progress, and supported her aspiration with other resources. She realized that she was finally able to pursue her dreams, “I didn’t think I would like school, but maybe I wasn’t in the right mindset or stable enough.” Now, it was different.
When she reached the in-person portion of the program, Sarah never missed a day of class and said, “I freaking loved it so much. I did so good, and I was so proud of myself. I wore scrubs every day. It was so fun!” Sarah has a renewed sense of purpose, “I was serving but helping people in a different way, and feeling like I still have purpose.”
Sarah passed her exams earlier this year! She laughs, recalling how anticlimactic it was to get her passing grades on a quiet Friday night. She celebrated Monday with staff and her friends from the program. Sarah now has a full-time job as a Certified Nursing Assistant at a nursing home only 10 minutes away from Haven Housing. She said, ”I wake up every day and I feel I have a purpose.” She remembers how a generous donor shared several boxes of scrubs that she could pick from before she could purchase her own.
“Being here and having that support really showed me what a support system looks like. Being here has really changed my life in so many positive ways. It made me think, how do I want to move forward?” Sarah successfully moved from Haven Housing into an independent sober living house with two friends from the program. In addition to staying healthy, Sarah’s future goals include getting her own car, a home, and the custody of her daughter.
Sarah is grateful for the second chance Haven Housing provided. “[Staff] told me they could see me do better. I think it was the empathy that they showed me, you know, they wanted me to do better and believed in me even before I believed in myself. That’s pretty remarkable”.