Brianna, 21, grew up in Indiana and started abusing drugs with her parents when she was very young. She entered the foster care system and had a child both when she was a teenager.
It was pressure from her foster mother and her six-year-old son who persuaded Brianna to seek help from Adult & Teen Challenge Ohio Valley. “My son, said, ‘Mommy, you’re going to die,’” she said. “My son, he’s now 6, he’s my world.” Brianna’s foster mother, who Brianna considers her mother, cautioned that Brianna could lose the boy if she didn’t stop using. Brianna wanted to be the mother that her child deserves so she enrolled at ATCOV.
At first, she didn’t want to be there. She was angry at her foster mother, thinking she didn’t have her best interests at heart. But she stuck with it. She attended the classes and chapel services. She listened to the counselors and others who have been through the program. She studied the scripture. She learned to trust in God and Jesus Christ. That turned everything around for her.
She understands that her foster mother was looking out for her and for her future. She wanted what was best for her. Brianna’s relationship with her foster mom is now very close. Brianna is able to see her son every month when he comes to visit and she looks forward to providing him with the stable life she wouldn’t have been able to give him before she enrolled at ATCOV. Her future now looks bright. “I’m going to graduate In August,” she said. “Then I’m going to move back to my foster home and I’m going to start culinary school.”
