We would like to share with you a few of the stories of our current and former residents and their children and how living at Amethyst Place has changed their lives.
I am a resident at Amethyst Place. My children and I are very happy here. I feel blessed and I am grateful for the opportunity to have been chosen to participate in the Amethyst Place Program.
I had abused drugs since I was twelve years old. If I had not gotten pregnant I might still be abusing them. Once I found out that I was pregnant I went into treatment and did well until I had the twins. Yes, twins! I was thirty-eight years old and had never had any children. I relapsed after the children were born. The children were taken out of my custody and given to my mother. I was devastated so I went back into treatment and applied for housing at Amethyst Place. I did everything that the Family Court directed me to do. Then I was told that once I received appropriate housing I could regain custody of my children.
Before becoming clean and sober I did not know how good things could be. Before I had my children I never knew real joy. All I knew was the world of drugs, alcohol, and incarceration.
When I heard that I was accepted at Amethyst Place I was scared, but ready. I have never taken on the responsibility of maintaining a home and paying bills. These things were never important to me - - only drugs were important. My first thought was how am I going to manage? Who is going to teach me how to take care of my children and clean house, as I should?
Amethyst Place provided me with a home, furniture, a parent as teacher worker to teach me how to properly take care of my children, counseling, peers who understand and are not judgmental, and just a beautiful place for me and my two babies. Since Amethyst Place came into my life I have been reunited with my children, and I personally feel that this is a great investment in my children's and my future. - Dana, program graduate
Living with my Mom again at Amethyst Place makes me very happy. What I like about Amethyst Place is there are friends to play with and we get to do stuff as a family. We have rules to follow, like being home by curfew. When we move I will miss Amethyst Place very much. - Johnny, 8 yrs old
I am a 35-year old Hispanic woman with two daughters. I have always lived with my mother until March 2003. Upon moving here, (Amethyst Place), I had no idea of the actual responsibilities of living alone. I had never had to pay rent, do my own laundry, make dinner daily, etc. I had no idea what it meant to be reliant upon myself and care for my two children. Living here has taught me to manage my money, care for my children and clean my house. Eventually I would like to have a place with my daughters where there is no staff but for now this is where we need to be. Amethyst Place is one of the many stepping stones I have to pass before entering into society for the first time. I am so thankful for Amethyst place. Without Amethyst Place people like myself would not even have a chance. - Patricia, program graduate
In the past five months in which I have resided here at Amethyst Place, I have undoubtedly been able to live in total peace and have complete serenity today in my life. I have for the first time ever, the opportunity to experience life as an independent woman and mother. I have just enough structure in my life to keep me from straying, remain focused on my goals, and allow me the freedom to enjoy my new life in recovery. I have a tremendous amount of support from the staff as well as all the ladies residing at Amethyst Place. Today the friendships in which I have gained, I truly believe that I will carry with me from this day forward. Living at Amethyst Place has indeed given me a greater outlook on life. I will remain forever grateful for the opportunity and the privilege of being here. - Melissa
I moved into Amethyst Place in December 2003. I enjoy being here. If it wasn't for Amethyst Place I would not have my children. I honestly can't say that I would still be clean. It is a very good program. The rules and curfew aren't that strict but strict enough to help build a routine and keeps a constant structured environment in place. When I move out I can keep the skills I've learned here in my home. - Krystal
I'm supposed to write about what I think about Amethyst Place. I think of Amethyst Place as a place for women in recovery to start over, have a place to make new friends, have a place to stay and still be in recovery. But Amethyst Place is not only for women to start over; it's a chance for the women's kids to start a new life too. When I say this it's because in my opinion all the women and men who do drugs and have kids not only do they get affected by it their family and kids do too. So that's what I mean by the kids getting a chance to start over too. When the kids are starting over they get a chance to make new friends and get to know their moms better. I don't know about everyone else but by mom was barely home when she was doing drugs, so I get a chance to be around my mom a lot more. So if I had a friend who (sic) mom did drugs, I would recommend Amethyst Place too. - Esperanza, 11 years old