Phoenix House Santa Fe Springs
“Phoenix House helped me become the mother I had always wanted to be.”
I came to Phoenix House Santa Fe Springs after 22 years of drug abuse and chaos. I wanted to be reunited with my two children, but the staff taught me that I had to learn to love myself first.
After six months in the program, they helped me regain custody of my son and he came to live with me at Phoenix House. Phoenix House helped me find the financial aid I needed, enroll my son in preschool, find a local doctor, and be the mother I had always wanted to be.
After a year, with the encouragement of my counselors, I felt ready to be on my own. My son and I moved in with another graduate of the program. I enrolled in school and went on to receive my associates degree. A year later, Phoenix House hired me as a childcare worker and I now help to provide the same family support that I received as a client. I am working toward my bachelors in psychology and eventually hope to become a therapist at Phoenix House.
Today, seven years sober, I’ve vowed that I will never go back to the drugs that took away such a large portion of my life. I can’t erase the past, but I can build new memories. This month, on Mother’s Day, I finally saw my fourteen-year-old daughter for the first time in ten years. I expected her to be angry, but instead, she wanted me to tell her where her blue eyes came from. We now send text messages every day—and I’m looking forward to being part of her life.