A Family Story

Our family struggled a lot and we are proud to say that we are healthy and all together now.  It started with an addiction to methamphetamine’s. I can say that now. Today I can stand up and say that I am an addict.  I couldn’t say that four years ago, I couldn’t admit that I was addicted to meth and that I was the cause of my family being ripped apart. I want to say thank you today to my CASA, to my Case Worker, and to my treatment team. Without you all we wouldn’t be back together as a family. Without your believe in me, I would still be living on the streets without my family.

I was sent to prison for domestic violence and was released after two years in jail.  During that time, my wife was continuing to use meth and our four children were in and out of foster care placements. I couldn’t keep track of where they were during any given month. They didn’t know their parents, my wife was missing, and I was struggling to come to terms with what I had done to my family and myself.

After I was released, I wanted to get my kids back. I managed to track down my wife and then we were told that we had problems with DHS and they had our kids. We went to court and agreed to work with DHS and the system to get our kids back. The Judge told me that my case was one of the most difficult she had seen and that she really hoped our family made it, for the sake of our children.

No one had believed in me before but I found that once I admitted what I had done, people helped me. My CASA, my caseworker, my sponsor, and many other people, including the Judge, gave us a second chance.  Our kids were placed with us after three months of hard work and reflection about what we had done to cause us to be in this situation.  It is still hard for me to believe that people can have respect for me after what I did to my family. I have a long way to go but today we are back together, I have a job, I have a year clean, and our kids are doing so great.  Thank you to everyone for never giving up on us.