Recovering addict, survived severe physical abuse and torture.  I used to live on the streets- traveled the southern coastline from Florida to New Mexico and back again several times while panhandling and living in truck stop parking lots and rest areas.  I am now taking college courses working towards my Bachelors in Psychology with a specialty of Substance Abuse and hope to be a Substance Abuse counselor in the future.  I want to make my life mean something - I have lost my children and that is the hardest thing of all to deal with.  I hope someday my boys will be able to look at me and see that I made something of my life. 

Addict, victim, weak, vulnerable

I want to get my Bachelors and eventually a Masters in Psychology and work with the addicted and homeless.  I hope to write a book someday to tell my story to the world.  My vision statement and goals in life are to utilize my knowledge and experience in the world of drugs to show others the way to recovery through the twelve steps as they are taken directly from the Bible.  Recovery is a spiritual matter and must be approached this way in order to be successful.  Too often, I have heard it said that the recovering person must believe in a power greater than him or herself - even if they have to use an inaminate object to start.  This is not true recovery, and I feel that I have a ministry to share.  Now I have to see how to go about doing this.