The road to recovery is full of twist and turns and the hardest part is trying to remain on the straight and narrow. For Lora, after reaching 8 months sober, her only goal is to keep her head down and do the right thing.
After months of sober living and being surrounded with support from Healing Housing, Lora was called home to face felony charges from her past. Lora knew that returning home, to the familiarity of her former habits, would not be easy. “I knew if I went back alone, I would have a chance to use again. But I just wanted to do the right thing.”
Unfortunately, jails and courtrooms are not new places to many women in recovery; but what remains uncommon is practicing sobriety while there. When Lora was in jail this time her experiences included backed-up sewage, no air conditioning, no sleep, sickness and filth.
“All this hard work to get clean just to sit in misery in lock-down? “I just kept telling myself I am doing the right thing.”
Lora explained that while she was miserable, this was the first time she felt some sense of peace during a stressful situation like this.
Because she was sober, the guards were kind and helpful. Because she was sober, Lora received support from her family, previously unavailable to her. Because she was sober, the process went smoothly, and a mistake from the past is being resolved.
“Because I wasn’t high, the guards let me see my past mug shot,” Lora explained. “I didn’t recognize her. That person knew she did something wrong. There was no hope. She knew no one cared and no one was going to come and get me.”
Upon leaving, Lora was once again accompanied by someone from Healing Housing, to help her face some new challenges back home. She believes that due to the stress, and without this support, she undoubtedly would have used again.
“I’m a lot stronger than I thought I was, and I came home clean.”
Lora is an inspiration to all and an example of how her hard work in the program is paying off. Even when facing the demons of her past, she continues to simply do the right thing. Lora gives a lot of credit to Healing Housing and the team she has behind her.
“I do it all for my dog, Lucy. I don’t have any children, but this dog is my baby. She has these light brown eyes that would melt your soul. Lucy stuck with me from the very beginning. I remember trying to detox by myself. I laid in bed for 4 days straight in pain and suffering- laying on a dog bed on the floor. And Lucy stayed with me the whole time. I just want to show her the love she showed me.”
Lora’s road to recovery continues to move forward. Lora is now on the hunt for her own place to call home where she can be reunited with her dog, Lucy—with one more problem from the past behind her.
