If you’ve never battled addiction, it’s hard to understand how horrible it is. Susan knows because she lived trapped in the nightmare of drugs and alcohol for years.
“I come from a long history of people that suffer from addiction. My mom had her own problems when I was growing up. It was just something we learned from her,” she explains.
Susan had no idea she could live any other way.
That’s why when the car she was living in broke down in Sumner, Susan thought about ending her life.
“I had lost everything. I was living in my car. Had lost all my loved ones. I’d lost all my possessions, and I was just really depressed. And I just felt like I couldn’t go on anymore,” Susan says.
But there was a cannery nearby. You might know the one. In a last-ditch effort, Susan ran inside and told the employees she wanted to end her life. They called 911 and Susan was put on suicide watch at the hospital. Her social worker mentioned that there was a place that could help her, if she was willing. They were talking about the Mission.
Susan knew that she had to make a change. She signed up for our New Life Recovery Program that friends like you make possible.
“It was my third time in treatment, and this time it worked,” she says.
“I got close to the Lord. And for me, the 12 steps, all that, my other treatment programs didn’t really work,” Susan shares. “The spiritual aspect and Christian values really is what I needed.”
“I’m a completely different person. I was so ashamed of myself and my addiction. People can’t believe the difference,” she says.
Susan graduated from the Mission’s New Life Recovery Program 4 ½ years ago. She’s maintained her sobriety that whole time! Now, Susan works as a drug and alcohol counselor and has her own place out in Lacey.
She knows her transformation will last. Because whenever she starts to struggle, she has a support system to reach out to, just like everyone else in the New Life Program does.
“Having support and accountability is crucial to sobriety. Absolutely crucial.” Susan says emphatically. “Without the program and the aftercare they offer, I think I would’ve slowly fallen away, for sure.”
Once you’re in the New Life Program, you’re in the program for life. As long as the Mission is here, we’ll provide all the support and care we can to both current and past program participants. To keep doing that, we’re counting on the help of friends like you.
Susan needed the new life that can only be found in Jesus Christ. That’s what the gift of friends like you gave her – and what your gift today can help give to someone else!
Give today to make life transformation possible for someone in need like Susan was!
