Client Highlight: Kristi W.
This past week I had the opportunity to meet with an inspiring woman named Kristi. I had the privilege of hearing her story, and she said she’s ready to share it with all of you.
Kristi, can you describe the moment when you realized you wanted to get sober?
“It came in a very harsh way for me. I got in the car wreck, 2 days prior I was out of meth and dope sick so I wasn’t fully cognitive. I was actually driving to come see my counselor here, Kayla. I went to the hospital and had broke my hand. Because I was in a cast I couldn’t shoot up… I realized, ‘I’m not going to allow the drugs to have someone shoot me up. I have to stop, it’s time to stop’. That week I went through my withdrawal and I got through it. All I did was go week by week and now I’m 8 months clean. I’m not going back. It was a hard wake up call but I needed it.”
What have been some of the most significant challenges you’ve encountered and how have you handled them?
“Right now I'm homeless and I've been homeless for over two years. I’ve lived in my vehicle, did the Econo Lodge program, Motel 6, and most recently I’ve been living in parks, but I needed to get away from the drugs. We found a really nice place at the end of the causeway and camped there for the last 6 months. Yesterday a wonderful woman took us in from a church. She's just a blessing, an angel. We’ll stay there until we find another program to help us. I’ve been doing a lot of apartment searches, we’re on the housing lists, I work with Michael Fitzpatrick through Independent Living Resources and he’s fabulous. I have a CCS and Inclusa worker. I have so many workers it’s such a good feeling to be able to ask for help and utilize the support I have now that I’m sober. I’m homeless but I still make all my appointments and am working hard.”
Have you discovered new activities or practices that have positively impacted your recovery?
“My DBT course through Peace of Mind Counseling and going to my therapies. I have two therapists I see twice a week. Going to them has seriously helped me open my eyes on how to cope, how to think, how to react, how to feel even. It’s what’s really strengthened me.”
What are some milestones or achievements you feel proud of?
“Getting off the drugs and getting a team that I call ‘Team Kristi’. It feels so good to have such a supportive team who make me feel like I can make it out of the situation I'm in.”
What have you learned during your time in services?
“I learned that there is hope. I learned how to become more positive in my thinking and more grateful for what I do have. Homelessness has taught me that it’s not the end of life, it’s just a part of life that I need to go through, that I need to experience in order to strengthen who I am. I choose to wake up every day and be positive. I make the choice to be my best every day. I do my best to not allow things to get to me. When they do, I take a moment, breathe, and think before I react. I’ve learned that.”
“I’ve also learned that I have to have coffee every day. It makes me who I am. If I’m to have an addiction, coffee it is!”
What plans/goals do you have for yourself moving forward?
“As soon as I get into stable housing, I am going to go to work part-time, because I receive SSI. I want to be able to enhance my income and then I want to obtain a vehicle. Once I get a vehicle, I'm going to open up a soup kitchen. I want to feed the hungry, 5 days a week Monday through Friday, no judgment. I also want my own home so no one can ever take it away from me. I want my daughter to have a home to come home to if she ever needs. I’d like to become a foster parent. I want to open my home to teenagers, the difficult ones. I was a foster child, I went through the system, so I understand so much of what it’s like to go through that. I want to open my heart and home to a child who’s had a difficult upbringing.”
Kristi’s final message for the readers:
“I love my life. I’m homeless, but I still love my life. I get emotional over it. I really truly love life and make the most I can of it.”
