“This is a place of healing”
Shanda married at age 18 – to escape the struggles that had forced her to grow up way too fast.
The little girl lost her mother when she was only 7. Along with her younger sibling, she moved in with her grandmother who battled diabetes and lost her leg three years later. “So I took on the responsibilities of the household – buying groceries and paying all the bills,” Shanda says, on top of going to school and caring for her brother.
But her marriage wasn’t the refuge she’d hoped for. After several years of turmoil spawned by substance abuse, it ended. Then she met the love of her life.
“He was the kindest man you’d ever want to know.”
With his encouragement she regained her sobriety and cared for him with heartfelt devotion after he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. In 2020, he passed away.
“And five days later, the world shut down.”
Once active in her church and a volunteer at a soup kitchen, Covid restrictions meant Shandra had little contact with those who had been her foundation of support. She was left to grieve alone. And she rekindled her substance abuse.
“I had lost Shanda. I didn’t know that girl I was looking at in the mirror. And then one day I looked, and she was back”
When the constraints were lifted, she renewed important relationships, but she couldn’t shake her self-destructive habits
“I had one life in the daytime and another one at night, and the two were beginning to clash”
In a moment of clarity, she realized the dangerous path she was on and pledged to change direction. She contacted her cousin who is an advocate for our ministry and was guided to our door.
Despite her longing for change, however, the transition wasn’t easy – she felt burdened by our rules and structure. But soon after joining our LifeBuilders Program – where we addressed her spiritual, emotional and social needs – she realized it was the best thing that ever happened to her.
“I learned more about God in three months than in the whole 59 years of my life,” she says, and His love began to heal her addiction.
“I’d been depressed and lonely and trying to overcome it with substances instead of God’s Word. And when you realize how much He loves you, it’s amazing!”
She is also grateful to our medical staff for recognizing and helping her manage critical physical issues she wasn’t aware of. And she has a Christian community she can call on any time for support.
Now healthy, sober and filled with newfound knowledge of the Bible and the Lord, Shanda sees herself differently and knows she is a blessing to others.
“The Mission showed me I can live again and I still have something I can give to society. I’ve got a job to do for the Lord and I’m so anxious to get out there and start doing it.”
