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Fall 2024 Lifeline Publication
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NORMALCY, WONDERFUL NORMALCY
Addicted mother could not dream of a normal life, until Lifeline treatment
LaDonna Cornwell’s life is pretty normal, like that of many 40-year-old single working moms with two kids. Isn’t it wonderful?
The normalcy of a 9-to-5 job, an apartment with her family and a car seemed out of reach for LaDonna until this year.
For LaDonna, it’s more than normal, it’s a miracle.
Until graduating from Lifeline in late 2023, she never let herself dream of such a life. Since her late teens, she had been in and out of jail, addicted to meth and alcohol. Relationships had ended badly, and social workers monitored her children until she completely lost custody. She was often homeless, except when she lived with her drug dealer.
The last time she was in jail, she resolved to do something differently.
“I pleaded for help,” she said. “I begged my parole officer to send me to Lifeline because I had heard about it from other girls in jail.”
She had tried rehab twice before, but she knew Lifeline was different with its spiritual emphasis during treatment. “I was ready for God in my life,” she said.
“I was tired of disappointing my family, my kids, myself. The pattern had not changed, and I was in a dark spot,” she said. “Alcohol had taken over. I slept with my bottle, and the first thing I did the next morning was go to the store to buy another bottle.”
She went straight through the three phases of treatment at Lifeline and was ready to leave after nine months. “But every day I was there, I woke up grateful. Other girls were counting their days til they could get out, not me. I was taking that time to work on me.”
LaDonna began working at Dippin’ Dots while at Lifeline and continues today full-time.
Holly Wilson, HR manager, said the company has employed Lifeline clients for about five years. The clients start during their second phase of treatment, and many, like LaDonna, stay even after they leave Lifeline.
Holly said the company began the partnership with Lifeline because she had a family member who suffered from addiction and was impressed with Lifeline’s program. “We get wonderful workers from Lifeline,” she said. Like LaDonna.
Since starting her job, LaDonna was able to buy a used car from her beloved sponsor, Lifeline founder Terrye Peeler, and she got her boys back in May.
“I am blessed and grateful at how much I’ve gained,” she said. “I had no hope of getting my kids back, but God’s hand has been in that. My oldest son had doubt (because of their past), but they see I’ve changed. They have hope now.”
