This is how we define success!! And it doesn’t come easily.

In keeping with my promise to share real-life stories of the women and children at
Sarah’s House and Ruth’s House, I am sharing with you today the story of Erin (Her
name has been changed for purposes of privacy). I have shared some pieces of her
story in the past, and today I am providing more details and insights.

Erin had been in and out of chemical dependency treatment, and her adult children no
longer wanted to have a relationship with her. They had heard a million times that their
mother was going to become sober, and they had given up hope. Erin described herself
as a severe alcoholic who had previously lacked the desire to maintain sobriety.

Leaving an inpatient treatment program, Erin found Sarah’s House and moved in on a
cold December afternoon. Something was different for Erin when she connected with
Sarah’s House. One important difference was that the staff at Sarah’s House held her
accountable. Sarah’s House requires that residents attend AA or NA meetings weekly,
have a local sponsor, follow inpatient aftercare, be active in the community, and submit
a drug and/or alcohol test upon request. This time, Erin also had the drive and desire to
change her life. In her own words, Erin stated,

“It’s hard to keep motivation when homeless. If I didn’t have a safe place like
Sarah’s House, I wouldn’t have been able to start this journey. I had burned all my
other bridges”.

In addition to accountability and connecting her with community services, the people at
Sarah’s House supported her as she made good decisions. The other residents and
staff provided encouragement and support. Everyone at the house behaved like a
family, cooking meals together and talking through their daily struggles. This type of
support is hard to come by for someone who has a history of substance abuse disorder.
For them, the positive influences in life are often hard to find, and many connections
from their past place too much temptation in front of them. Reconnecting with old
friends who wish to meet in a place where alcohol is served is one of the greatest
enticements to begin drinking again. This is the type of influence that does not lead to
chemical health- just the opposite. What is needed is to live in a sober environment to
avoid these temptations while recovering and learning to implement effective strategies
for avoiding substance abuse.

After months of effort and commitment, Erin’s story has a good ending. After Erin’s
daughters saw her maintaining her sobriety, they renewed their relationship with her.
She found a job that she enjoyed and grew her skills and responsibilities at work. She
has returned to school to acquire more skills, aiming to pursue a career helping others.

Erin recently celebrated over a year and a half of sobriety and moved out of Sarah’s
House after finding, with the help of her case manager, a two-bedroom apartment in the
community. She now has a bedroom for her daughters to occupy when they visit. She
and her daughters are continuing to rebuild their relationship. All of this success
occurred because Erin was determined to put the work into achieving and maintaining a
sober, healthy lifestyle, and because Sarah’s House staff held her accountable and put
in place the types of support that are proven to help. They provided a safe and sober
environment for her. The other residents helped too by sharing their love and support
with her. The result is a proud mother with an excellent job living in our community and
working hard to gain the skills to help others. It can’t get much better than that. That is
how I would define success.

If you would like to help make it possible for this type of success to continue in our
community, please consider supporting Sarah’s House.