Stories of Hope

I was born in San Antonio, TX due to my father being in the Air Force. My parents divorced when I was three years old and at that time my mother moved me and my older brother to West Virginia. I had a somewhat normal childhood growing up. My mother worked numerous jobs to provide for me and my two brothers. My father began working for the Charleston Police Department and rarely had time to be in my life as much as I would have liked him to be. At a young age, I began to play football and grew to love the sport because I developed a natural...

My life before substances was honestly great.  I was raised in a supportive and loving upper-middle class family by my mother and step-father in Princeton, WV.  I didn’t experience any childhood trauma nor was I abused.  We were constantly going on family outings to visit family at the lake, camping, or at our beach house in NC.  I was always adventurous and not afraid of taking risks.  I had a very active life spent mostly outside.  I was a thrill seeker for sure and still am to this day.  My mother was very big on my education and music...

My name is Heather and my sobriety date is 7/28/2020, the day I arrived at Recovery Point Charleston.  As a child, I always knew something was different about me.  I spent my early teenage years always trying to fit in with other kids my age, but I never could find where I felt like I belonged.  When I was thirteen, I took my first drink of alcohol.  Finally, the void inside of me was filled and I felt like I’d found my place.  All was well in the world and drinking became a weekend ritual for a few years. When I was fifteen, I was sent to a...

I was raised on Bakers Farm, my family’s farm in Letart, West Virginia. I had traumatic events occur at a young age, but I had a good childhood. Though I was raised by great parents, I started making my own troubles early on in life. My mother and father were always hearing of one awful thing or another I had been caught doing. Before leaving grade school for middle school, I was already around drugs regularly. Once in middle school my drug use and bad behaviors only escalated. I surrounded myself with more of the wrong people and got myself...

I was born on August 5, 1994, at Women and Children's Hospital to a loving, hardworking, middle-class family who tried their best to give me everything I needed as well as everything I wanted. My dad was a construction supervisor, so he was out a lot during my childhood working all the time keeping food on the table and the lights on at the home. He was my hero growing up and to be honest, he still is. My dad also struggled with Alcoholism when I was first born but having me was enough to make him put the bottle down and be there for me, my...

My name is Melissa Figueroa.  I came to Recovery Point Charleston on April 10, 2020, after being incarcerated for three months.  Before addiction, my life was unmanageable with my parents who were in active addiction.  My siblings and I lived with our grandparents for a while, but eventually, my mom did get clean. When I was sixteen, I started working and going to school.  During this time I experimented with marijuana and alcohol.  Drinking and smoking became more frequent but had not yet affected my school or employment.  This went on for...