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"Not a shelter made of bricks, but a heart that understands, that covers, that loves." |
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Kerri Ann Shares Her Story...I was very fortunate to grow up in a close family with parents who loved me and my brothers. I had many friends, did well in school, and was active in sports as well as theater arts. Then I turned 16. I thought I knew everything and was invincible. I became friends with a girl and both of her parents were addicts. I became fascinated with their “no rules” lifestyle of swearing, smoking and staying up all night. I isolated myself from my friends and my own family and began to lose my identity. All of the things that made up who I was slowly began to fall away. On the last day of my sophomore year I was raped by a guy I went to school with. Scared and ashamed, I didn’t tell anyone. About a month later I tried speed for the first time with my friend’s mom and I told her everything, which lead to a huge fight between my friend and I that ended in the ER on a 51/50. I transferred to a new high school my junior year where I met some new friends and began experimenting with different drugs. My grades began to drop quickly. A few months later, I was expelled for possession of drugs and I transferred to continuation school where I found myself surrounded by addicts. I began using any and every kind of drug, ditching school, lying to my parents, and sneaking out every night. In a short amount of time I was completely out of control. I had dropped out of school and moved in with my boyfriend. At 18, I overdosed on speed, resulting in a mild heart attack and was hospitalized for 5 days. I will never forget the look on my parents’ face when they came to see me. I was deathly skinny and hooked up to tubes. I knew at that point that I needed help and asked to move back home to try and straighten my life out. My prayers were answered when I found a job I loved working for a chiropractor. It helped me stay clean for 2 ½ years. In that time I finished high school, got a car, an apartment, and started thinking I was back to normal. This didn’t last long, I began to use on the weekends at first, and soon I was back to using everyday. A few months passed and my life began to spiral out of control once again, but this time worse than ever. I quit my job and started dancing for money. The only direction in my life was whatever direction the “connect” was in. I had no purpose, no goals, no morals, and no remorse. I ended up running off to Las Vegas and getting married to some guy I had only known for two weeks. I snapped out of it for a while on my wedding night. Cryiing to myself, I wondered what was happening to me and how I could stop it. On October 5, 2006, I was arrested for possession of drugs and sent to jail. On my next court date, I got prop 36 and for the next two years I was in and out of jail. I could not stop getting loaded. At that point, I had crashed my car and woke up with no idea what happened to it. I lost my apartment, had a warrant out for my arrest, and I was losing my mind. On August 5, 2007, I turned myself in expecting to serve 16 months in prison. However, my lawyer found a way to get me into drug court. I remember sitting in on a drug court session wondering if I could last one day in this rigorous program. Staying sober for 18 months seemed impossible, I couldn’t even stay sober for 18 minutes. When I first started the program, I was literally crawling in my own skin. The thought of waking up with nothing to alter my mind, was the worst feeling ever. I was scared, confused, helpless, and alone. Right away I began going to meetings daily and working the 12-steps with my sponsor. During that time, I met a guy who was also in drug court and we quickly fell in love. It wasn't long before I became pregnant and moved into Casa Teresa. Not more than a week later I lost my boyfriend. Needless to say, I was devastated; thankfully the staff and residents at Casa were there to comfort me. Words can not describe the pain that I felt and while the old me would have gone right back to using, I knew this time was different. I had the tools and the support of both the drug court team and Casa Teresa to help me through each day. For that I am very grateful, because it would have been overwhelming otherwise. Realizing that I was to be a single mom, I began pursuing a career in nursing. After ten long months and eight days overdue, my beautiful baby girl was born. There is nothing like looking down and seeing your baby smiling back at you. I finally felt like my life has direction. My baby is now seven months old and getting closer to crawling every day. Seeing the world through her eyes gives me a new perspective. I’m proud to say that I have been accepted to Transition II at Casa Teresa and I move into my own apartment soon. I plan to stay at Casa Teresa for another year, while I further my education. My plans for my future include working towards my nursing degree and working at my full time job as a single mom. Everyone at Casa Teresa has been invaluable in my journey, especially Dr. Pugh, my casa manager, and the house moms. I am so thankful that I have been able to repair relationships with my family and can move forward in a positive direction for me and my baby.
Let us know how you're doing:Call (714)538-4860 or email info@casateresa.com. Last Updated: April 19, 2009 |
