Success Story: Becky

I've put a lot of thought into the meaning of your mission statement and I truly believe I would be a student who will demonstrate promise. I have persevered through many obstacles before and during my incarceration. I want to persevere now and be successful.

I have three children, of whom I'm trying to get custody. The mistakes I've made have created huge barriers in achieving that goal. I regret the things I have done in my addiction. I was so selfish that I just left my children and my career behind. I cannot even imagine what it would have been like to have my mom up and vanish for five years while I was growing up. My children need me and I so desperately want to give them what they need. I know they will be well cared for living with me, but I need a substantial income for that to happen. Going back to school, and having a career would make that possible.

I carry a lot of shame from losing my nursing license. The federal government made it so no federal medical insurance would cover my license for ten years. While in prison, I remember the very day I had the telephone hearing, I was sitting in my CCO's office. They said, "We're sorry, but the decision is ten years. (Ten years later I'd be so far behind in the medical field that I would have to go back to nursing school). I then realized I had lost everything. I want a respectful job again. I want to help other people and I have to believe I deserve a second chance. I'm choosing Chemical Dependency Counseling because I've learned a lot about addictions. While in prison I went through thirteen months of treatment, (The Therapeutic Community), and was fascinated by all the dynamics of addiction. I respected the CDP's and made a connection with them. Their jobs and what they did for me changed my life. I know as a CDP I could help change people's lives and I also know there will be people I cannot help. I've also learned a lot about addiction working . Watching and listening to an addict in active addiction, while I am clean and sober, really showed me how powerful addiction is. This made me a firm believer that addicts cannot beat addiction alone, we need help and I believe as a CDP I could help.

I was married fourteen years. I married young, and wanted so badly for it to work so much so, that I allowed that marriage to consume me. My Ex-husband was convicted of a sex offense a few years after we were married. My main reaction was "What is wrong with me? Why am I not enough for him? I stayed with him after that and had two more children by him and never felt like I was enough. I've since learned through a lot of counseling and soul searching that the problem wasn't me and in the midst of it all, I now know I missed needing to focus on my own children.

In addition to all this, I was raped December 2000 by a male from the Tri-Cities. That is what sent me over the edge along with going to trial, making sure he never raped again. I didn't get help. I turned to meth instead. I regret that decision every day. I take full responsibility for my stupid choices and I wish I could take them back, but I can't. I want to move on, be a good mom to my children and be successful.

Right now I work . My hours have increased to twenty a week. She is very flexible with the schedule, which is perfect for going back to school. I love this job. Not only have I learned more and more about people and addiction but I've learned so much more about myself. I really care about what happens to these people. I want for them to be successful. When I listen to them talk, my brain is working overtime to try and figure out what can be done to help them succeed. I feel good at the end of every workday no matter what happens because I'm doing what I love, working with "broken people"!