Aleshia was sent to live with her grandparents as a young girl because of her mother’s substance use. She turned to alcohol and marijuana at 14, and soon found herself continuing the cycle of addiction. As her disease progressed, Aleshia’s own young children were placed with their grandparents. It would take a decade of tragedy for her to find the tools she needed to break the cycle.
After 10 years of homelessness and active addiction, Aleshia was once again pregnant and facing the prospect of having another child taken from her. “I knew that I would not be able to raise my baby if I couldn’t stop using,” says Aleshia.
Aleshia began going to meetings and surrounded herself with people who were in recovery. She tried short-term rehabs, but was never able to piece 30 days of recovery together. A few weeks would go by, and she would use again.
Then, when she was 7 months pregnant, a night of cocaine use triggered her labor.
All I could do was cry, knowing what was coming for my baby and me.
Aleshia’s youngest son was born 8 weeks early, weighing just 4 pounds. He spent 10 days in the NICU connected to tubes and machines. When it was time for him to go home, he went home with his father.
And Aleshia went home to POWER.
A POWER Mentor encouraged Aleshia to enter treatment at POWER House. During those six months, her life changed. After so many years of being homeless, she had a key to her own room. More importantly, POWER gave her a safe space to rebuild relationships with her children. Aleshia’s kids came to visit her at POWER House, and the therapists helped them work through the damage addiction had done to their family.
When you support recovery, you empower mothers like me to understand our histories, to love ourselves, and to become the parents we always wanted to be.
After two years in recovery, Aleshia got her kids back. Today, they have families of their own, and she is a proud grandmother of 8. In Oct 2020, Aleshia celebrated 13 years of recovery.
The greatest gift POWER has given me is the opportunity to raise my youngest son. He’s 13 now, in eighth grade, and growing taller by the day. I love watching him grow up.
You can help another woman like Aleshia transform her life. Make a gift today to provide the support she needs to rebuild her family.
