I am the youngest of 5 boys. I grew up in a small town in Ohio, about 5,000 people small. When you grow up in a small town, there isn’t much to do. Everyone drank for fun, so I did. I started when I was 14. I was good at drinking and the life of the party. By 17, I was a full-blown alcoholic and dabbling in drugs.
As the second oldest in her family, Maria has always taken on the role of caregiver. She never shied away from hard work. Her life hasn’t been without its hardships. Throughout her childhood, her mother battled a substance use disorder. At the age of 12, Maria was put into foster care, where she remained until she aged out at 18.
For 21-year-old Cierra, “one more time” had become her mantra. Just one more, it won’t hurt anything, she would think to herself. I will stop after this hit she told herself over and over again. It was not until she had her daughter that she turned “one last time” into “taking it one day at a time”.
Two years ago, Darla and her two boys Ivan, age 8, and Braiden, age 13, were alone in a motel room, hungry and scared, with nowhere to go. Losing her 7-year partner to illness left them defenseless. With no other options, Darla took her children to a homeless shelter.