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RECOVERY STORIES:
LISA | JOSE | MARY | CHRIS
"El Centro saved my life," declared Lisa.
"Speed was my drug of choice, suicide my way out. I must have attempted suicide at least 12 times between the ages of 15 and 24. That last year I made five attempts."
"They only let me out of the hospital because I agreed to attend AA and enroll in an outpatient program. I'd been through inpatient before. I'd stay clean for 60 days and then start doing drugs again. El Centro was one of the places Chope (hospital) referred me to. At first I hated El Centro; I didn't want to be there. I was very angry. They made me make this oral contract not to commit suicide while I was in the program. I thought that was ridiculous. They were the last people I'd tell if I was going to commit suicide."
Weighing 80 pounds, "tired of not really existing, just looking for someone to take care of me," and frightened after a recent rape, Lisa was ready for a new life. Changing her life required more than a sense of desperation. At first it was difficult, "but El Centro would not let me fall, they would not let me go. If I didn't have their structure, their love, I would have died. Gary is part of my recovery, part of my success story." After eight months, Lisa felt ready to move out on her own."
Initially things went well. But a year later, involved in
a nasty custody battle, Lisa again turned to El Centro for support. And again, the
Agency saw her through. "El Centro gave me the tools," Lisa explained. "They
taught me how to handle relapse before relapse happened. You know, it's not
so difficult to get off drugs, it's staying off that's hard. Before
when I would get stressed, I acted immediately. El Centro taught me how to
recognize a relapse mode before going into it. I finally learned that nothing
is as bad as it seems; tomorrow will come. I didn't know that those nights
when I took drugs. I thought a new day would never dawn."
(Lisa continued.. ) Lisa now attends three AA meetings a week, often bringing
her children with her. This summer she will be taking her two daughters — ages
9 and 11 — to Hawaii
for a much-needed vacation (her 2-1/2-year-old
son will remain at home). While there, she
will attend an AA meeting and pick up her
fourth year chip.
"Life is now much less painful, more focused. I have goals and have succeeded in a lot of things. I'm way freer. Everything was so short-lived out there. I was fantasizing about suicide all the time. I've been clean and sober now for 3-1/2 years. El Centro," Lisa concluded, "is just amazing."
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