Jill had survived many years of trauma and abusive relationships when she came to Calvary Women’s Services. She was in 6th grade when she dropped out of school and started using drugs. When she lost her apartment, she began working on her sobriety at a substance addiction service agency in DC. Her counselor there recommended Calvary as her next step.
Jill says she felt safe as soon as she arrived. “Right away, I knew I could do something better with my life.” She was at Calvary last November when we moved from 5th Street to our new home on Good Hope Road. She says, “I felt even more at home here.”
The space that our new home offered had a positive effect on Jill. Through the support of her case manager, she enrolled in a literacy program, and she took advantage of the additional classes offered in our expanded education center. In our Life Skills, Education and Arts Program (LEAP), she learned important skills like how to open a bank account. “The program taught me how to be responsible,” she says.
Jill regularly attends school and is working toward her GED, and celebrates two years of sobriety this month. Now at Calvary’s permanent housing program, Sister Circle, her goal is to inspire others to overcome their addictions. Reflecting on her many successes since she her first night at Good Hope Road, she says, “It’s a fabulous feeling.”
