MOMS STORIES

natalie

NATALIE

CINDY

TAMMY

Join Our Family

paula

Check out the volunteer opportunities you're interested in, fill out the contact information, and click "Submit." You will receive an email with more information.

Join now

gazette

The Gilead Gazette, our quarterly publication keeps you updated on our events and programs with pictures and personal stories.
Stay updated

What's Next:

Find out more

MOMS STORIES

Natalie’s Story

When I first came to Gilead house I had just come off being on an ankle bracelet for a year.  I had eight felonies and my life had, to say the least, not turned out how I ever thought it would. The  year I had spent on the ankle bracelet had given me the time to see what my life had become due to the lifestyle I had led from the age of thirteen, a lifestyle filled with alcohol, drugs, domestic abuse, self-hate, self-destruction and criminal activities.  I was finally looking at life through sober eyes, everything was new.  It was like being reborn and having to start all over from scratch.

Coming to Gilead House has forever changed my life.  Yes I was sober but I didn't have a clue how to live daily life.  Here I learned with help from Saundra how to be a parent.  I learned how to budget and save money, I never saved more than fifty dollars in my life.  I learned how to trust people, the right people!  I have a job, and I got my Registered Dental Assistant license back.  I have accomplished all my goals that they asked me to write when I first came there. 

The first thing to blow my mind is the unconditional love I have received from everyone at GH.  It didn't matter what I had done in the past, they loved me! I received so much support that I lacked in my life.  I developed a relationship with my son that is loving and strong, I now know what it is to be a mom and have such a deep love for your child.  I learned how to talk about what’s on my mind and not bottle it up.  I learned how to be happy with my life because I was given the skills, the love and the support from so many women who gave it so freely.  I was also given a friend, a mentor, and she is like a mom to me but so much more.  She is such a solid strong influence in my life. 

I could go on and on about the holiday dinners, celebrations, moms’ night, baseball games to learning how to be independent and to care for myself and my son.  I want to share my experience with you and let you know that I believe in this house and these women who give so much of their time, support, love and expertise to help us.  They do it not because they have nothing better to do and need a hobby, but because they truly care about people who have been down the hard road and need to get back on the right one.  This is more than a program to me, this is my home and my family and even though I will be moving, I will always come home to visit.  They are a part of me and who I have become and for that I am truly and forever grateful more than words could ever express.