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RECOVERY SERVICES
Susan Has Hope Once Again Opioids tried to destroy her, but your support helped. Susan is a 32-year-old woman who has been a caretaker for as long as she can remember. It came naturally to her to care for others and always put them first. That is until she started taking opioids after being involved in a car accident. Soon her drug use began to spiral out of control, and she could no longer take care of anyone, much less herself. She felt guilty because she was using, so she would use more to dull those feelings of shame and regret. The downward spiral continued until she hit rock bottom. For Susan, rock bottom was going to jail, which came after she lost her home and was forced to live in her car. That was the breaking point. It was literally life or death. She knew she either had to stop using drugs or she was going to die. She did not have a support system on her journey, but she was lucky enough to find the strength to get back on her feet, get clean, and stay clean because she met the Volunteers of America’s Opioid Mobile Response Team while incarcerated. That was more than five years ago. Now, Sarah is helping others on their journey of recovery and sharing the good work that Volunteers of America is doing in the Florida Parishes. “It’s a blessing that
In the last 12 months, 1 in 4 adult women have received behavioral health treatment compared to 1 in 7 men.
I’m still here,” Susan said. “I’m still living my journey of recovery every day, but now I’m that caretaker again. It’s a role that fits me like a glove.” Addiction knows no boundaries. It does not matter that you are a professional with a family that depends on you or if you are poor and cannot afford treatment. With your support, we can continue to combat the opioid problem in the Florida Parishes.