My name is Michelle. I’ve lived in Tucson since I was seven years old. I was raised by my mother and grandmother, while my father, a heroin addict, was in and out of my life. That instability left a lasting mark, growing up, I carried abandonment wounds, low self-esteem, and a constant need to feel loved.
By age 14, I was seeking that love in all the wrong places. I became sexually active with older men, rebelled, experimented with drugs—not heavy at first, but enough to pull me off course. At 17, I got pregnant, and at 18, I became a mom. I loved my son deeply, but I was still lost, still searching for someone to tell me I was enough.
Not long after my son was born, I was introduced to meth. Someone told me it would help me stay thin and stop thinking about food—and it did. I became addicted. At first, I was a functioning addict, working as a manager at Aeropostale and pretending everything was fine. But slowly, the truth became harder to hide.
After staying awake for days, I crashed my car while driving. A stranger pulled me from the wreck and got me home without calling the police. That accident became my excuse to stop going to work and eventually, I lost everything. My job. My home. My sense of control. That was the beginning of my descent into homelessness.
I made the hardest decision a mother could make: I gave my son to his father. I couldn’t let him live with me in the chaos I was in—couch surfing, addicted, lost.
During this time, I met a man on the streets. He became my boyfriend and my abuser. He struggled with addiction, just like me, and pulled me deeper into the darkness. I was living in fear every day. I had guns held to my head. I watched friends get assaulted. I saw people lie, steal, and hustle to survive. It was a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.
Eventually, I was arrested with meth in my possession and spent a week in jail. But as soon as I got out I used again. I was hopeless. Stuck. I wanted to stop but didn’t know how. I had no idea how to take the first step.
Then one day, while working a new job I hoped would change my life, a bounty hunter showed up. I had missed court. I was arrested again. That was the breaking point.
My ex-boyfriend mentioned The Haven, a women’s recovery program. My mom, who never gave up on me, made the call and got me in. I arrived at The Haven with just a small suitcase. I was there too early, so I sat on the steps and told myself, “This is it. There’s no turning back.”
I detoxed there—slept nearly a week—and when I woke up, my counselor said, “Michelle, it’s time to get to work.” And I did.
I stayed at The Haven for a full year. I completed the 90-day program, then moved into the mother-and-child facility. I joined the Native Ways Program, and for the first time in my life, I felt spiritually connected. My mother is Native American, and through sweats, teachings, and guest speakers, I began to heal. The staff saw us as humans—as women—not as addicts or broken people.
Thank God I never lost legal custody of my son. When I moved into the mom’s house, he came home. I got a job at Dillard’s and even managed to get my car back. Slowly, I rebuilt my life—piece by piece.
After a year, I moved into my own duplex. I was promoted to manager at Dillard’s in just six months. But I wanted more. I enrolled in night school and earned my real estate license while still working full-time.
From top right: Michelle and her business partner, her husband, her oldest son and his wife, her younger son, her oldest son and her grandbaby.
Today, I’m proud to say I’ve been in real estate ever since. My business partner and I have closed over $10 million in sales, yearly. I’ve been married to my husband for more than 15 years. I’m a mother to two boys, a wife, a professional, and—most importantly—I’m free.
The Haven gave me my life back. I left there not just sober, but healed—and full of hope. I’m living proof that no matter how far you fall, no matter how lost you feel, recovery is possible.
If you’re struggling—please hear me: Don’t give up.
No matter how many times life knocks you down, you can rise again.
You are not alone. You are not beyond saving.
You can do this.
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