family recovery

After losing custody of her daughter, Kimberly Evans was approached by a Family Recovery Program staff member who handed Evans a card and told her that they might be able to help get her child back home. A year later, after graduating from the program, she has her daughter back.

“IT’S PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST PROGRAMS I’VE BEEN A PART OF.”

-KIMBERLY EVANS

Young and alone Evans’ addiction began at a young age. She grew up in Baltimore with a mother who was addicted to alcohol and drugs. Her parents were separated and Evans lived with her stepfather, a man who sexually abused her when she was barely a teenager. Though she told her mother, the situation didn’t change and Evans eventually left home when she was just 13 years old. Moving in with her boyfriend who was in his 20s, she entered a new home that was as horri c as the one she’d left behind. Her boyfriend was physically abusive to her throughout the two years she lived with him. “It was not a good situation to be in, especially as a child,” Evans says.

This led to a string of unhealthy relationships with other men who abused the young girl. Because of her age, she was dependent on the men to keep her from becoming homeless. The dependency became detrimental and she moved to her own place in her early 20s. Around this time, she began abusing cocaine, marijuana and alcohol as a way to cope with the hardships she’d faced. Noticing his daughter’s growing addiction problems, her biological father tried to get her to enter recovery in 2001. “I wasn’t ready,” Evans says about her rst attempt. “He was trying to do what was best for me, but I just wasn’t ready at the time.”

A hard separation When she gave birth to her daughter two years ago, her baby was born drug-exposed. Though she had started recovery in 2012, she relapsed and was using while pregnant. Her baby was taken away and put in foster care. The decision to enroll in Family Recovery Program came out of the desperation to see her child again. “It was really hard being separated from her. Her foster parents are great people, but I couldn’t handle not being able to have her with me,” Evans says. Family Recovery Program transformed her life, helping her gain visitation rights, weekends and eventually full custody. They even connected her

with Dayspring Programs Inc., which helps provide transitional housing for women and children. The Family Recovery Program has provided a network of support that Evans still uses, even after graduating. She believes the program is special because of the attention, time and care they give to each individual. The staff are committed and hands-on in their work, ensuring clients receive and utilize any resource or treatment that is available. “It’s probably one of the best programs I’ve been a part of. They do whatever they can to help you,” Evans says. “It makes all the difference to have staff care that much. It de nitely made a difference for me.”

9