Mom Finally Breaks the Bonds of Addiction After 20 Years

Christy started using drugs at age 19 after her father committed suicide, and for the next 20 years she struggled with her addiction. She managed to work at a busy accounting firm and raise her daughter – now 23 and attending college –despite her addiction. But Christy hit rock bottom in 2019 when she became pregnant with her second child and realized the hold her addiction had on her. She tried to quit, but couldn’t do it alone.

“I had this great plan to stop when I was on maternity leave,” she says. “I had every intention to quit, I just didn’t know how.”

Christy was finally able to break the bonds of addiction thanks to the care and support she received at Parisi House on the Hill and her own hard work. Today she is a full-time mom to her two healthy little boys, and loving her drug-free life.

“I was so deep in my addiction,” she says. “I had used for a long time, and it had come to the point where it was just a chore. It was this thing hanging over my head all the time. I just wanted to wake up and feel okay without drugs, but I didn’t know any other way.”

Her son was born premature and had to stay in the hospital, so Christy went to another residential treatment program that doesn’t allow children. She was miserable without him. “I would cry every single day for him,” she recalls. “I would sleep with his little receiving blanket from the hospital. I wanted my son with me.”

After Christy’s baby was released from the hospital, she moved to Parisi House and mother and son were reunited.

“I knew this was a huge opportunity to do what I really needed to do and make it stick,” Christy says. “The program helped me immensely. It teaches you how to have different priorities, how to have a routine. They make you feel good about yourself. Learning to love myself again was a big thing. Drugs fill a void, and the positive affirmations taught me that I am enough.”

She worked hard at Parisi House, attending classes every day and doing chores with the other women. She says the child development classes helped her relearn how to be a mom because it had been a long time since she had a little one at home.

“My counselor was the most patient, best listener – she was absolutely instrumental in my recovery,” she adds. “Bonding with the other women also helped.”

Today she is living in San Jose and enjoying life with her fiancée and father of her two little boys.

“I wish I had this program when I was young,” Christy says. “Best thing I ever did was go to Parisi House. It changed my life.”

Mom Finally Breaks the Bonds of Addiction After 20 Years

Christy started using drugs at age 19 after her father committed suicide, and for the next 20 years she struggled with her addiction. She managed to work at a busy accounting firm and raise her daughter – now 23 and attending college –despite her addiction. But Christy hit rock bottom in 2019 when she became pregnant with her second child and realized the hold her addiction had on her. She tried to quit, but couldn’t do it alone.

“I had this great plan to stop when I was on maternity leave,” she says. “I had every intention to quit, I just didn’t know how.”

Christy was finally able to break the bonds of addiction thanks to the care and support she received at Parisi House on the Hill and her own hard work. Today she is a full-time mom to her two healthy little boys, and loving her drug-free life.

“I was so deep in my addiction,” she says. “I had used for a long time, and it had come to the point where it was just a chore. It was this thing hanging over my head all the time. I just wanted to wake up and feel okay without drugs, but I didn’t know any other way.”

Her son was born premature and had to stay in the hospital, so Christy went to another residential treatment program that doesn’t allow children. She was miserable without him. “I would cry every single day for him,” she recalls. “I would sleep with his little receiving blanket from the hospital. I wanted my son with me.”

After Christy’s baby was released from the hospital, she moved to Parisi House and mother and son were reunited.

“I knew this was a huge opportunity to do what I really needed to do and make it stick,” Christy says. “The program helped me immensely. It teaches you how to have different priorities, how to have a routine. They make you feel good about yourself. Learning to love myself again was a big thing. Drugs fill a void, and the positive affirmations taught me that I am enough.”

She worked hard at Parisi House, attending classes every day and doing chores with the other women. She says the child development classes helped her relearn how to be a mom because it had been a long time since she had a little one at home.

“My counselor was the most patient, best listener – she was absolutely instrumental in my recovery,” she adds. “Bonding with the other women also helped.”

Today she is living in San Jose and enjoying life with her fiancée and father of her two little boys.

“I wish I had this program when I was young,” Christy says. “Best thing I ever did was go to Parisi House. It changed my life.”