Rachel loves to cook and wants to start her own restaurant. She makes a mean lasagna and specializes in homemade noodles. “That’s my dream,” she says.
But it’s a dream deferred … for now. Rachel is at Kokomo Rescue Mission, preparing to tackle the world … and the rest of her life.
As a young child, Rachel was molested by someone she trusted. The trauma led to depression, and she began smoking pot to cope with the pain and anguish. She was only 11 years old.
Rachel got married at 17 and had a daughter. That marriage failed after about a year. She remarried and had a son. Six years later, her husband took off with the kids, and she couldn’t find him. Her drug use went out of control. She’d been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but rather than taking prescription meds, she self-medicated with hard drugs.
Three years later, she got the kids back, but Rachel was a mess mentally. She continued using drugs and drinking. “It was just a downhill spiral for me,” she says.
Rachel first came to the Mission after a jail stint on a drug charge. She kicked her addiction and stayed sober for two years.
But her troubles continued on and off over the next decade, until she finally went to prison for three years on a drug charge. When she was released, she came directly to the Mission, “because I’d been here before, and I knew they could help.”
“The Mission has shown me a better way to live,” Rachel says. “They’ve helped me get closer to God, to walk the right path. They’ve showed me love and compassion and understanding.”
Rachel is free to leave but chooses to stay. She is back on her prescription meds for her bipolar disorder, and she’s doing much better. She’s pursuing her ServSafe certificate, preparing for a career in food service. She also assists in the Mission kitchen. And she’s saving up to start her own restaurant.
“It’s awesome to be at the Mission,” she says. “They are helping me open doors to a better future.”
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