See how your compassion gave Crystal a fresh start…
“I have a foundation for success…”
Crystal grew up in an unconventional situation… but it wasn’t without love. “My grandparents adopted me when I was three months old and I grew up a happy kid.”
Her biological parents lived across the street. “When I was young, I knew them as my brother and sister. As I got older, I understood who they actually were and they were still part of my life.” But her grandparents were always the ones she called “Mom” and “Dad.”
So when she lost some of her closest family members over the past two decades, it sent Crystal spiraling into depression. Her biological father passed away, then both of her beloved grandparents.
“To numb the pain, I started to drink more and abuse prescription drugs. And then when those became harder to obtain, I turned to street drugs.”
When her drug use got her in trouble with the law, she knew she needed to make a change. “I realized that all these things I was doing were leading me in a path of darkness,” she says. “I was in chaos.”
“I needed someplace where I could stay sober and heal. I wanted to break that cycle.”
Thankfully, she had the opportunity to come to the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission. “When I walked through those doors, I was crying because I was so happy to be here. I knew this was right, that God answered my prayers.”
Crystal joined the Christian Addiction Recovery Education (C.A.R.E.) Program and has fully committed to participating in the restoration it brings. Through the Mission’s holistic care and supportive community, she has gained the tools she needs to stay sober and to reconnect with God and herself.
“I’ve had a lot of guilt and shame that the Mission has helped me heal from,” she says. “I’ve learned that if God can forgive me, I can forgive myself.”
Because of you, neighbors like Crystal know that God loves them and they are worthy of a new beginning. Thank you for opening the door to hope and healing this summer! “I finally feel grounded. I feel like I have a purpose.”
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