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REGULAR MEETING February 25, 2019
<br /> touch on. Number one (1), I do deal with the behavior of clients and there is very little. Everyone
<br /> there wants to be there and there is very rarely a problem to the point where I have to intervene.
<br /> They are there because they want to be, and we don't have violence in our facility ever. We have
<br /> very little issues. I'm personally in recovery. My family is, too. The more resources, the better,
<br /> you know? We are all trying to help, and everyone here wants to help. So, I am very much in
<br /> support.
<br /> Christopher Santiago, 3008 Trenton Court, Mishawaka, IN, stated, I am in support of this. I didn't
<br /> come from a bad home. I didn't come from the streets. I was middle-upper class. I had a job in
<br /> aviation and I had an injury. I became addicted to prescription pain killers and then ended up losing
<br /> my career, my home and most of my family to this disease. It was because I didn't have a place
<br /> like this. I went to a treatment center and they sent me back home. I didn't know what to do. I
<br /> wanted to live life a certain way and everything was new to me. I didn't have someone to help me.
<br /> I didn't have someone to guide me in a good direction until I found Choices. I,myself', now work
<br /> at Choices as well trying to help people from making the same mistakes that I did. Thank you.
<br /> Michael Wells, 19532 Sunset Lane, South Bend, IN, stated, I am also the Community Transition
<br /> Program Case Manager for St. Joseph County Community Corrections. In my experience, what I
<br /> have seen as a whole, is individuals, whether they are coming out of DOC of Impactive Addiction
<br /> and active treatment, is you need someplace safe to go. If you don't have a place, you are going to
<br /> fail. This sober living facility is very important to those in addiction. Thank you.
<br /> Matthew Landry, 54410 29th Street, South Bend, IN, stated, I'm here to support Choices Recovery
<br /> and the opening of this building for them. I want to share with you what they've done for me. I've
<br /> been struggling with addiction for eight(8) years now as a resident of South Bend. I would like to
<br /> express my gratitude I have for this place and everything they've done for me. They've helped me
<br /> through, starting with where I was at in my life before I got here. I had just been through serious
<br /> trauma. I lost all hope. My baby was taken into custody of the State of Indiana DCS. I have a one
<br /> (1)year old baby boy. My heart was broken. I struggled to manage a job. My relationship with my
<br /> son's mother was falling apart. I was distant from all of my family. I lost my home and was in
<br /> trouble with the law. I heard about Choices Recovery and I called them. They were very fast to
<br /> pick me up. When I got there, I was treated with respect and love. I knew everyone there really
<br /> cared. I learned how to heal all the brokenness inside of me through the courses that I took there.
<br /> I learned how to form healthy and new relationships and how to handle situations that used to
<br /> baffle me. Through certain classes I attended, I learned to identify what behaviors I had to change
<br /> and how to do that in order to prevent relapse. I learned how to connect with people and
<br /> communicate what I needed to stay clean and sober. Today, because of the changes I've made in
<br /> my life,with the help of everybody at Choices,all of my legal issues have been handled and cleared
<br /> up. I see my son every week and will have him back in my custody in a couple more months. I live
<br /> in a sober environment, able to pay my rent and manage a full-time job in recovery. Me and my
<br /> son's mother are in counseling and repairing our relationship and my family is very supportive of
<br /> my recovery. I can say that it is because of everything I learned at Choices and all the great people
<br /> that have come into my life from Choices that I am at this point in my life. I couldn't have done it
<br /> without them.
<br /> Sandra Gill, 7651 W. 1400N, DeMotte, IN, stated, Even though I don't live or reside in South
<br /> Bend, I am a nurse here at Choices Recovery and have been for the past year. I am a wife,mother,
<br /> sister, daughter and a nurse. I have worked at Choices for a year and prior to that, I was a nurse at
<br /> the Indiana State Prison maximum security. I used to think the criminals, when they would state
<br /> they were there because the system did them wrong and say when they committed their crimes
<br /> they were under the influence or on a bender,that it was all just a cop out.The truth is,the addiction
<br /> is truly the monster. Sadly, addiction can take them there. This our chance and our opportunity as
<br /> a whole community to give families back their moms, dads, sons and daughters. No one grows up
<br /> wanting to be an addict. My patients carry the guilt and shame of being an addict all on their own
<br /> without us placing that on them. People have the need and want to be accepted. With everyone in
<br /> the community knowing this is sober living,my patients are already being judged. So, for them to
<br /> make this commitment, willingly, this is a very brave step for them. They deserve to be built up
<br /> and supported by each and every one of us. I want to leave you with one (1) thought. We are all
<br /> just one(1)bad day away from being an addict ourselves.
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