Deanna remembers the day she found herself standing in front of DRMM with nothing but the clothes on her back. She understood that this was her last chance to beat her addiction to alcohol or lose everything—her ability to work or ever live independently again, the love of her children, and perhaps even her life.
How, she wondered, had she gotten to such a dark place in life?
Tending to her dying mother day after day for three long years proved too much for Deanna, over time she began to turn to alcohol to cope. By the time her mother’s pain and suffering were over, Deanna’s next drink was the only thing that mattered to her.
Help and hope when all seemed lost
“When I first came here, I was a mess. I was at rock bottom, not functional any longer,” Deanna says. “My son who is in college was looking at me like, ‘Who are you? What happened to the lady that used to help other people?’”
“When I first came to treatment, I was suicidal,” she says. “I didn’t want to be here, I just wanted the pain to stop.” But through therapy and the treatment program offered at DRMM, Deanna came to understand that she desperately needed God’s help—despite the fact that she’d been mad at Him for her mother’s long illness and death.
“I should be dead. I shouldn’t even be sitting here talking to you, but the program, it worked. It eased the pain,” Deanna says. “The people in this ministry are helping me.”
A second chance in life
Deanna knows now that God has a plan for her, and clings to his Word to guide her. “My favorite verse is Philippians 4:13, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ It took me a long time to understand what it meant.
“God made no mistake with me because when I look in the mirror now, I love myself. I can smile and it’s not painful,” she says. The process has also brought healing to Deanna’s family. “My children forgave me, my sister and other siblings, too, and I forgave myself.”
With support from caring friends and donors, Deanna has completed a nursing program and works each day to help others find the courage and support to break their addictions. “I’ve lost friends . . . they’ve died because of their addictions. I’ve been clean for two years and I don’t ever want to go back into that darkness.”
Deanna is living proof of how your support of DRMM can truly save and change lives. She is deeply thankful for getting a second chance in life . . . and a chance to help others. She encourages everyone to continue to support DRMM because the need is so great. “Whatever you give, you’re going to help save somebody’s life. Your gifts provide clothes, food, and other resources to help with school and work. You help someone like me not be discouraged.”
Help another neighbor like Deanna beat addiction and get a new beginning in life!