Cheatham County Stories

April 

Opioid addiction has impacted my life since I was a young child. My father lost his life to an opioid overdose. My mother spent childhood battling opioid addiction and trapped in the cycle of incarceration as a result. I grew up in various foster homes all across the state. While I had some very great experiences in some homes, I also experienced trauma and abuse in others. I started experimenting with drugs at age 11 and fell into a cycle of self-destruction and self-harming behaviors and unwilling to allow the people in my life who were safe support to connect with me.

After I graduated, I started college and was determined to write a new narrative. Unfortunately, I was still not coping well and developed unhealthy codependent behaviors and began to use various forms of escape to try to numb the pain that was showing up and needing attended and that despite countless measures, I was trying to avoid. Years later after reaching a point of suicidality, I finally understood the need for my OWN path of healing and began my recovery journey. My pain for so many years was hidden behind a smile but the reality was my spirit was broken and needed repair that I could only find in intimate relationship with Christ. Today, I have a family and marriage that have been restored and a mission driven career at “The Next Door” where I can serve my community and help women struggling with Addiction, mental health crisis and trauma. 

Today I walk in freedom and do not live in the shame of my past but in the GRACE that was given to me for my future and hope to use my story to encourage others so they can experience this redeemed way of living.