STORIES OF HOPE
Jared first tried drugs in the sixth grade, started using marijuana in the 10th grade, and in his early 20s, experimented with cocaine. He also struggled with schizoaffective disorder. Jared’s unstable mental, emotional, and physical health led to violent episodes, suicide attempts, and multiple lengthy hospitalizations.
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When she became a member of Wellspring Clubhouse three years ago, Ann didn’t know what to expect. Not only was she unfamiliar with the Clubhouse, she was also new to the area, having moved from Arkansas. Initially, she kept mostly to herself, completing a task and then leaving the Clubhouse without much interaction with other members.
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Prior to residing at Penn Foundation’s Village of Hope, Laura was struggling with bipolar disorder and drug and alcohol addictions. She has been hospitalized multiple times and spent several months in jail. Feeling alone, Laura appreciated visits from Penn Foundation’s FACT (Forensic Assertive Community Treatment) team while she was in prison. Once she was released, Laura worked with the FACT team to find housing that would support her recovery.
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For the first time in our lives, an unanticipated situation found my husband and me unsure about where we would live. It was very stressful. While family and friends offered to take us in, they lived too far away. We needed stability, a secure place to call our own, in order to feel like we could navigate our lives.
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I reached out to Penn Foundation during a desperate time in my life. Drugs had a hold on me, and I had reached a terrible bottom. I was in a relationship with a woman who was also using, and we were facing eviction. I didn’t know how to live – how to take care of myself, eat healthy, keep our home clean, pay bills, and take my medication. All I could focus on was getting more drugs. I was also struggling with mental health issues and feeling incredibly hopeless.
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My name is Marcus, and I come from an upper middle class family with two loving parents and two successful brothers. In high school, I was an all-state athlete, and I received a scholarship to wrestle in college. My parents raised me with strong morals and an unbelievable work ethic. Yet, I still fell into the trap of addiction. I’m currently in recovery from a heroin addiction. I’ve spent years in and out of state prisons, county jails, and rehabilitation centers. I’ve been robbed, stabbed, and shot at. I’ve been homeless and on welfare. I’ve overdosed, and I’ve lost more friends to the disease of addiction than I have left. I’ve lost the chance to fulfill my dream of earning a degree in secondary education and becoming a gym teacher.
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For many years, depression and mania interfered with my daily life, including my job. Therapy had been ineffective. When a change in my insurance forced me to find a new provider in 2015, I came to Penn Foundation. I was no longer working, but I wanted to work again. My therapist told me about Wellspring Clubhouse, a volunteer program that helps individuals achieve goals similar to mine. I was skeptical about Clubhouse at first, but little did I know just how much this program would change me and improve my quality of life.
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My name is Francois, and I am a proud person in recovery. In 2008, my life was the opposite of what it is today. Due to the wreckage of my active addiction, I found myself in the criminal justice system. I was sent to Allentown, where I was then offered treatment for my substance use disorder. This is how I came to know St. Luke’s Penn Foundation.
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My name is Althea, I’m 37 years old, and I now have 5 months of continued recovery from drugs and alcohol. A few months ago, I found myself broke, homeless, and addicted. I had been in-and-out of more rehabs than I could count. Finding and using drugs had taken priority over my health and my family, including my child. One day, I was at the train station where I had been living and just felt so hopeless. As I stood in that train station in my tattered clothes, feeling sick, broken, hungry, and in tears, I decided it was time to surrender to a new way of life. I looked down at my phone and knew who I needed to call.
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Before I came to Penn Foundation, my life had become dark. I had taken a path that led me to lose myself, my son, my family, and my friends. I lost all hope. All I could see were the substances in front of me, and my only thoughts of the future were how I was going to get more. I had been fighting with myself my entire life, and one day, I realized that I would never win. The drugs had stopped numbing my pain. I was lost and defeated.
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Melissa, 50, has struggled with her mental health and addiction for years. She lives with Dissociative Identity Disorder and was “raised in a culture where you came home from work and had a drink.” The problem is, she says, she never stopped drinking.
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James, 43, an Allentown native, served his country honorably in the Marine Corps for 10 years. He spent time in active combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Like many of his fellow soldiers, James drank to pass the time and to cope with military life.
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