Lorrie, 44, is a former St. Vincent de Paul client who has been successfully on her own more than two years after leaving our programs. She shared her story in April’s Good Samaritan newsletter, explaining: “I am so grateful for St. Vincent de Paul and for the people who give to make these programs possible. Everybody here is so caring and genuine. I’m so appreciative of how I was treated. I was never talked down to. I was always encouraged. That reassurance was huge for me.”
Several years after completing the substance-abuse program at St. Vincent de Paul’s St. Jude Women’s Recovery Center, Lorrie has her own apartment, a new career that she loves, and nearly five years of sobriety. In a few months, she’ll obtain her associate’s degree.
A lifelong alcoholic and addict, Lorrie has weathered tough times. Her dad committed suicide when she was an infant, and she was raised by a single, alcoholic mom.
“I started drinking alcohol at a very early age, and then at 15, I met the love of my life.” She rolls her eyes, indicating the bitter outcome of that relationship. “He was 10 years older than me, also an alcoholic and a drug dealer.”
She gave birth to three children while continuing to drink and abuse drugs. “It’s by God’s grace they’re healthy, and it’s by God’s grace that I lost custody of the children – because I was incapable of taking care of them,” she says. “I lived on the streets for 10 years. I was homeless.
She remembers her resolve in trying to do better. “I had good intentions, but once I was drunk or high, that next hit or that next beer took precedence. I had moments of clarity: I remember thinking, ‘What am I doing here? I am such a screw up!’ I had such guilt and such shame that I would just keep using to numb those horrible thoughts.”
In addition to being an addict and an alcoholic for 25 years, she was also a domestic violence victim. The turning point in Lorrie’s life occurred when she finally sought help and called the police.
She checked into JDAC (Jefferson Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center) to detox. From there, a counselor referred her to SVDP’s St. Jude Women’s Recovery Program for long-term residential treatment.
It was exactly what Lorrie needed.
“St. Jude offered me a safe, supporting and loving environment where I didn’t have the pressures of putting a roof over my head and food on the table. I just had to pay a minimal amount for my bed, and I could work on me,” she says. “I could work on the process of accepting that I have the disease of alcoholism and addiction. I began the process of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. St. Jude gave me a foundation toward a recovery-based lifestyle.”
After graduating, Lorrie transitioned into St. Vincent de Paul’s Follow-Up Program, where she received a rent subsidy for her own apartment and continued to get case management from SVDP.
“Having that housing assistance grant helped me so much,” Lorrie says. “I started college, and I was taking nine credit hours, plus working at McDonald’s and making only about $150 a week.”
The grant covered 80 percent of the rent and utilities and cost her 30 percent of her check. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without that,” she says. “It gave me an opportunity to hold myself accountable. I had somebody (my case manager) checking on me. And I didn’t have the financial stress of trying to get by – and go to school – while living way below the poverty line.”
Today, several years after exiting SVDP’s programs, Lorrie has a good job as a case manager for Volunteers of America, a social-services agency that helps the poor. Soon, she hopes to begin a bachelor’s degree program to become a counselor for alcoholics and addicts.
In addition, she sponsors women in her AA home group that meets weekly at St. Jude. “I love giving away what I’ve freely been given. It’s such a huge gift,” she says. “You can’t put a price on it … to see that light come
She remembers her resolve in trying to do better. “I had good intentions, but once I was drunk or high, that next hit or that next beer took precedence. I had moments of clarity: I remember thinking, ‘What am I doing here? I am such a screw up!’ I had such guilt and such shame that I would just keep using to numb those horrible thoughts.”
In addition to being an addict and an alcoholic for 25 years, she was also a domestic violence victim. The turning point in Lorrie’s life occurred when she finally sought help and called the police.
She checked into JDAC (Jefferson Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center) to detox. From there, a counselor referred her to SVDP’s St. Jude Women’s Recovery Program for long-term residential treatment.
It was exactly what Lorrie needed.
“St. Jude offered me a safe, supporting and loving environment where I didn’t have the pressures of putting a roof over my head and food on the table. I just had to pay a minimal amount for my bed, and I could work on me,” she says. “I could work on the process of accepting that I have the disease of alcoholism and addiction. I began the process of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. St. Jude gave me a foundation toward a recovery-based lifestyle.”
After graduating, Lorrie transitioned into St. Vincent de Paul’s Follow-Up Program, where she received a rent subsidy for her own apartment and continued to get case management from SVDP.
“Having that housing assistance grant helped me so much,” Lorrie says. “I started college, and I was taking nine credit hours, plus working at McDonald’s and making only about $150 a week.”
The grant covered 80 percent of the rent and utilities and cost her 30 percent of her check. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without that,” she says. “It gave me an opportunity to hold myself accountable. I had somebody (my case manager) checking on me. And I didn’t have the financial stress of trying to get by – and go to school – while living way below the poverty line.”
Today, several years after exiting SVDP’s programs, Lorrie has a good job as a case manager for Volunteers of America, a social-services agency that helps the poor. Soon, she hopes to begin a bachelor’s degree program to become a counselor for alcoholics and addicts.
In addition, she sponsors women in her AA home group that meets weekly at St. Jude. “I love giving away what I’ve freely been given. It’s such a huge gift,” she says. “You can’t put a price on it … to see that light come
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