Annette

My name is Annette. I am a single mother of two who came to Safe Havens for Little People in September of 2004. When I came to Safe Havens I was involved with children and family services. My children were in the custody of the court system and Child Protective Services. One lived in a foster home and the other is in a behavioral rehab center for children.

In December my daughter who was in foster care was returned to me and my son will be returning soon. Since being with Safe Havens I became a mortgage broker, bought a car, moved into my own apartment and have continued to be clean and sober after a 15 year drug run.

Today I am 4 months pregnant with my 3rd child, a child that will be born clean and who will not know the hardships my other children have known.

Thanks to Safe Havens, therapy, hard work on myself and the support of the women of Safe Havens, I have become a strong women and a healthy part of society.

Nicole and daughter Olivia

My name is Nicole; I am a 24 year old single mother of my daughter Olivia who is 2 years old. I also a have a 1 year old son named Vincent. Vincent was removed from me at birth by Child Protective Services and placed with his father due to my addiction to methamphetamines. My CPS case was closed in November 2004 after I went into a 6 month inpatient drug treatment program and then into Safe Havens.

I have now been clean since November 19, 2003. I came into Safe Havens for Little People in June of 2004. Since coming to Safe Havens I returned to school and received my GED. Then I went to get my driver’s license for the first time and passed. Then my father blessed me with a car and allowed me to make small doable payments on it. After getting my car I returned to school full time majoring in administration of Justice. My dream is to become a homicide detective.

I have maintained my sobriety and met great women who are striving for success like me that I am able to lean on for support. I am so thankful for Safe Havens; had I not had a safe place to go I can honestly say I don’t know where I would be. The biggest thing I have found was a relationship with a Higher Power that keeps me clean and sober 1 day at a time.

Lisa and son Jessie, 3 years old
Lisa came from a very dysfunctional family and the only thing she remembers learning was to party. Therefore she did just that at a very young age. Her decisions have all been based on what her life experiences have shown her she would benefit from.

Based on her emotional state of mind at the age of 17 after putting her son up for adoption, she fell into a long-term spiral of drug addiction. She had never been able to find peace of mind. She is working on this each day.

Even after having 2 more children she has never found a “NORMAL” life up until recently when she came to Safe Havens and started the recovery process around the loss of her first child.

For the first time in her live, Lisa is learning to be a mother to her 2 children that are still currently in her life. Having been an addict since the age of 17, she is learning to live sober 1 day at a time. Lisa has recently found employment for the first time ever. She also has a new found relationship with God, who she feels has blessed her with what she has today.

Lisa says Safe Havens believed in her and assisted her to believe in herself so that today she is on her way to being all she can be for herself and her children. Lisa is 35 years old and on March 25, 2005 she received her very first paycheck.