Page 26 - Women’s Yellow Pages (FlipBook)

Helping women reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction to alcohol and other drugs, and
reducing the incidence of addiction in future generations

Yvonne’s Story

In her role as a POWER mentor, Yvonne often visits clients in their homes offering guidance and
support to those struggling with addiction. She is living proof that treatment works.

Yvonne had experimented with alcohol and marijuana in her past but her drug use escalated after a
traumatic loss. As a young mother, she allowed her then 10-year old son to visit his father. The father
disappeared with the child and Yvonne didn’t see her son again for eight years.

Her eventual addiction led to a downward spiral. She lost her job and turned to the streets to escape
the pain of everyday life, walking away from her apartment and never returning. When Yvonne lost
custody of her newborn daughter and her other son was placed in foster care, she was determined to
reclaim her life.

“I was broken,” she says. “I couldn’t keep doing this to my kids.”
After years on the streets, it wasn’t easy to change. Yvonne was in and out of treatment programs until,
she says, a counselor referred her to a POWER mentor.

“My mentor helped me create the foundation that saved my life,” says Yvonne.
Yvonne worked hard to achieve recovery. She regained custody of her younger son and was reunited
with the son she hadn’t seen in years.

With almost seven years of recovery, Yvonne returned to POWER to volunteer while completing an
internship, earning her credentials as a Certified Recovery Specialist, and graduating from Community
College of Allegheny County. In 2018, she was hired by POWER as a full-time mentor where she
strives to make lives better for others.
“I want to do the best with what I have,” says Yvonne. “It’s my turn to pay it forward and help other
women.”

POWER serves nearly 1,500 women in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction each year. If
you or a woman you know is struggling with a drug or alcohol problem, call the POWER Line at
412.243.8755.

Women who are victims of domestic violence are at increased risk of substance use.
~~~National Institute on Drug Abuse

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