No Longer Walking Alone: Stephanie’s Story

Stephanie did not expect to survive the year she almost lost everything.

Her life had been unraveling quietly and then all at once. After her marriage ended, she found herself separated from her children, isolated in a place where she knew no one, and overwhelmed by pain she did not know how to carry. What began as an attempt to numb the hurt quickly turned into addiction. Before long, it had taken her freedom, her stability, and nearly her life.

An overdose landed Stephanie in the hospital, where she spent weeks on life support. Doctors were unsure she would make it. When she was released, the cycle tightened its grip again. She relapsed briefly, still trapped in patterns she desperately wanted to escape. One person, an old boss, looked her in the eye and told her the truth she could no longer avoid. If you do not get help, you are going to die.

Not long after, carrying everything she owned, Stephanie boarded a train with nowhere certain to go. Along the way, a stranger noticed her distress, stopped, and chose not to look away. He listened. He stayed. And he connected her to City of Refuge. Stephanie is clear about what that moment meant. Without it, she believes she would have returned to addiction.

When she arrived at City of Refuge, Stephanie expected judgment. Instead, she found something she had not experienced in years. Acceptance. Structure. People willing to walk with her through recovery rather than rush her toward an outcome.

Healing did not come all at once. It came through counseling, workforce training, and consistent support. It came through learning to show up each day, even when the work felt hard. Slowly, sobriety took root. Confidence followed. Stephanie earned multiple certifications, secured full-time employment, and began rebuilding a sense of independence she once believed was gone for good.

Today, Stephanie is preparing for independent living. She talks about her own apartment, a car, and the possibility of restoring relationships with her children. Where fear once dominated her thinking, hope now has room to grow. “I have a future,” she says. “I finally believe I can do this.”

Stephanie’s journey reflects what can happen when recovery is met with compassion, structure, and accountability. With steady support, sobriety took root, stability returned, and a future once nearly lost began to take shape.

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