When Theresa was a young girl, she was abused by her mother’s boyfriend.

Her mother stayed with him but sent Theresa to live with her dad.

Theresa’s dad struggled with addiction and often turned to crack as his drug of choice.

“I was living in survival mode all my life because I never knew how to not be in survival mode,” she explains.

Growing up around addiction, Theresa didn’t think it was a big deal when she began drinking with her friends as a teenager.

But while her other friends were able to put the bottle down, Theresa wasn’t. Not only did drinking help Theresa ignore the deep pain she was feeling it also eased her social anxiety.

“It made me feel normal. I felt like I could connect to people better when I had alcohol in my system.”

And Theresa wanted connection. She wanted friends. She wanted a loving family. She wanted a community. So she kept drinking.

A few years later, she felt even more alone when her dad committed suicide.

Never having been taught how else to cope, Theresa drank more and more. Eventually, she was unable to hold a job and got into a horrific car accident. She was unresponsive for a week and in a medically induced coma for two months.

As she began healing, she fought to become sober. Not long after, she got into an unhealthy relationship. She was fighting to stay sober, but he continued drinking. Theresa knew she had to leave but she had nowhere she could go, so she came to the Mission for a safe place to sleep and eat.

Here, Theresa heard about our New Life Recovery Program, applied and got in.

“This program has really taught me how to live,” she says. “This program was meant for me because I was hungry for Jesus and this is the only program that deals strictly with Jesus and God.”

The pain and trauma of Theresa’s past are still a reality. She still has scars, but she’s healing and, in many ways,
has already healed more than she ever thought possible.

Theresa graduated last month and it’s safe to say 2022 was the best year of her life. She knows she wouldn’t be where she is today – healthy, alive, sober and walking with Jesus – if it weren’t for generous people like you.

“Your willingness to give, your willingness to help someone makes it all possible,” she says.

Each $26.81 you give will provide a life-saving, transformative day of care. You can give a gift, at this link, to make a difference for someone like Theresa!