Becky came to the Café in 2017 when we were at the little house on Broadway. She had just been released from the Marysville jail after receiving a DUI and reckless endangerment charges against her daughter. She said she needed a plan and needed someone to tell her what to do. Alcohol and mental illness had defeated her and she didn’t know what was wrong with her, why she messed everything up or how to fix it.
She became a member of the Café and joined a women’s circle. She signed up and received a Recovery coach and created the plan she needed to be ok with who she was and to begin repairing the damage she had created.
She stayed on her path, walked with her head held high through the advocating her coach did with her and was able to be recognized as someone with an illness that needed help. Her endangerment charges were dropped and she made connections within her circle with woman who knew what she was going through, because they themselves had been there before. She got a job and began her career in helping others who struggled with mental illness. She got a home and settled in with her daughter living her life one second at a time. She was no longer able to attend her Recovery Circle because of her job and daughter and chose to leave the Cafe. She checked in for a year or so giving updates and trying to remain connected. Eventually we lost connection with her.
Last month she showed up at our front door, defeated again, deeper in pain then ever before and sober. This time, she hadn’t returned to alcohol, she had suffered the pains of her mental illness and had became lost in that tunnel. She has lost custody of her daughter this time, says she sees no hope and is begging for a plan again. Fortunately, her same recovery coach is still with the Cafe and they have reconnected. Becky says that her coach makes her feel like she can face anything. That the respect she receives makes her feel wanted and needed and that she knows what she is going through will pass. She says her coach radiates hope and she strives to live like her coach lives, right where her feet are. She was able to get back into the same circle she was in 4 years ago. Different faces but the same approach. She said she has begun to remember how the Café changed her perspective on life last time she was with us.
Just last week Becky shared with us a memory from the Café on Broadway.
“I woke up and took 3 busses to get to the Café. I had an appointment with my coach to go over a resource list of lawyers that could help me in my situation. I was already believing there was no help for me and that I would never feel ok ever again. I just wanted to feel ok. My coach always says sometimes ok is good enough. When I walked in the Café, the employee at the desk knew my name! He said he was happy to see me and that they were waiting for me. I had never felt wanted or liked like I did at that moment. Then I heard feet running down the stairs and out popped my coach, beaming with a smile and embraced me with a warm hug. Right then I knew I was ok and that I was going to be ok. The Café is my foundation and something I know my heart needs.”