“I was lost, broken and hopeless…”
Donna spent nearly her whole life caring for her son. When he was little, she devoted herself to ensuring he had everything he needed. He meant everything to her. So when he grew up and kicked her out of their house and told her she had to change, she was devastated.
“I was working the graveyard shift at work… 12 hours a day, seven days a week for sometimes 35 days straight. The only way I stayed awake was an addiction to meth and prescription drugs. I was a functioning addict,” she says.
Then, Donna had knee replacement surgery and went on even more medication. That’s when her son asked her to leave and stopped speaking with her.
“That was the hardest part, because my son is my everything to me,” she adds. But over time, she realized he was right.
Being out on the street was Donna’s breaking point. She felt she had no purpose. When she arrived at The Mission at Kern County, she hadn’t eaten in days.
Donna initially planned to stay with us for only a short time. But when she joined our Celebrate Recovery program and started to heal through counseling, classes and chapel services, she realized she was where she needed to be.
“The Mission gave me strength. They helped bring my son back into my life.”
“Before coming to the Mission, I was lost, broken and hopeless. My life was at a standstill. Now I have everything.”
After graduating our program and moving out of the Mission, Donna got a job helping other men and women along their own addiction recovery journey. She is thrilled to have just celebrated her 8-year sobriety birthday! She loves being able to give back to others, and she loves spending time with her son and his children.
Donna is filled with thanksgiving for God’s redeeming love in her life – and your incredible generosity and support! “The Mission gave me tools that I needed to take with me when I left. Now I’m the best mom and grandma I can be.”
Read the full Fall 2023 Newsletter here.