Anastasia’s life started spinning out of control at age 13 … partly because of a painful ear infection.
Her father gave her a Lortab (a narcotic) to help with the pain, “and I just went from there,” Anastasia says. “Even after the pain went away, I continued to try to find some, any way I could get them.”
For nearly two decades, Anastasia continued her drug use. Sometimes she kept it relatively under control, holding steady jobs, getting married, having three kids. Other times, she says “drugs tore my whole life apart. They really deteriorated my body, and they destroyed my marriage.”
A second marriage also ended in divorce, and her children landed in foster care. Anastasia was arrested in 2019 for dealing meth, and she served a two-year sentence. She started to turn things around while incarcerated, and upon her release, she came to Kokomo Rescue Mission.
“The Mission is amazing,” says Anastasia, 33. “They genuinely care, and it shows. And they mentor me in my walk with God.”
Without the encouragement she receives at the Mission, Anastasia says she might have gone back to her old ways. Instead, she’s been sober for three years. Today, Anastasia looks forward to getting out on her own again, and she has big plans. She currently works at a car wash that also employs a lot of teenagers.
“I want to go to college, get a business degree and own my own car wash,” she says. “I’ve watched these school kids grow into young adults, and it’s amazing.” She’d like to share some of her own life lessons with them, and help keep them on a good path — much like the Mission has done for her.
Thank you for giving a second chance to women like Anastasia!