Corina

I finally found Solutions of North Texas in the beginning of January 2009 and have been free from drugs and alcohol since then. I say “finally found” because I had been struggling with addiction for a number of years and had been to every other program available including hospitals, detox, treatment, psychiatrists, and groups. I eventually had to detox myself before I could enter Solutions because no other hospital would take me.

I would very much like to stress that nothing else had ever worked or had even given me hope that I could live life. I am a single mom of five wonderful children and am currently in school and working part time at a liquor store. I believe that God allows me to do that but Solutions got me where I needed to be in working the twelve steps and applying life skills and responsibility at the same time. I didn’t always have such freedom or happiness and I am very grateful for that.

By the time that I came to Solutions I was literally dying of alcoholism and had been through so much already in my life that I didn’t see how they could possibly help me but I had no other option so all it took was willingness to try their program out and it worked.

Since the age of twelve I had been involved on a very powerful, large gang. I chose to associate myself with men that could protect me from that life and actually ended up only needing protection from them. I had been raped, beaten, stabbed, kidnapped, and shot repeatedly. Most of this was from the men I was either married to or involved in a long term relationship with. I had no worth for myself or others. By the time I had children I was so done with the life that I moved, changed my name and tried to start a new life but, I was still making bad choices and ended up the same way.

I had always been around drugs and alcohol but never really interested. I really only wanted to be loved, treated special, settle down with family, and have a life that was good. Unfortunately I had no idea how to do any of that for myself and I found a sense of ease and comfort in abusing substances. It wasn’t always so bad but by the time I tried to quit, it was too late.

I spent the next five to eight years going through programs that didn’t work and even experienced seizures and health problems when I tried to quit myself. I voluntarily sent my children to a home away from harm so that I could do whatever needed to be done and it still took me another year to find help.

Now that I have been through the program at Solutions, EVERYTHING is different. I am a mother now; I no longer have wants, drive, goals or dreams that I am just sitting around thinking about. I am actually doing something about them because I know that I can. Society doesn’t need people like me sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves and wasting everything around us, society needs us to be putting our talents and experiences, good or bad, to use. There is no sitting around drowning in self-pity and fear for me. I now have the everyday skills that it takes to live.

I couldn’t teach my children anything before and now I can help with their homework and truly love and support them, as well as stopping the cycle of abuse from being in their lives. Parenting five kids is not an easy task even for someone who has been sober all of their life, so it is more than just getting sober that matters. I had been through the worst trying to live before and now my opportunities to use that experience towards a degree in the medical field are endless.

I made mistakes with a few misdemeanors in my past I am still able to show up and prove I will do whatever is necessary and now I have been given that extra chance from people who at first told me “never”. I also have the honor of helping other women, one of the best parts to this whole deal. I love life!

Corina