By: Micaela Meyer, Marketing Assistant, Center for Human Services

A month and half before beginning The Redwood Family Center’s treatment program, Mari Rodriguez had her fourth child.  In the face of addiction, she was doing her best to stay clean but found herself relapsing.  For a while, she had tried to maintain sobriety on her own in order to keep her children and raise them well.  However, by the time she had her third relapse, she knew she needed treatment and accountability for that to be possible.

“I just surrendered myself and became powerless.  Then, I went into treatment in 2017 and changed my life.”  Her first impression of Redwood was that it felt like an adult daycare.

“You have to answer to people, and it felt like I wasn’t in control of anything,” she said.  “But, I realized that it’s all of the techniques that they use to help you live life on life’s terms without drug use.  You give up your self will and learn how to become an adult again.”  The program gave her the knowledge, tools, and confidence to lead a productive, structured, responsible, and stable life for herself and for her children.  

“After that realization, I loved it.  My biggest need was to learn how to live again and be able to provide for my son and my other kids in a healthy environment.  It started with me, and I needed to make sure I was okay if I was going to be the one raising them.  I knew if I stayed in treatment, it couldn’t get worse—it could only get better from there.”

At one point in her time at Redwood, she decided to leave.  Though, it was less than 24 hours later that she thought to herself, “There is nothing out there for me.”  She returned to the program shortly thereafter and went on to stay in the grad house and graduate from the First Step program by 2019.  After going to school and joining the Welfare to Work program, she became a Substance Use Counselor at Center for Human Services.

“I never thought I’d end up in human services, but I knew I needed to do something that grounded me in my recovery. I needed to continue it because I always had a problem of relapsing. I just wanted to show I was appreciative of Redwood’s help and join the statistics of people who did well.”

Mari also attributed her success to God, and she emphasized her faith as an important part of her story.

“The entire Redwood program is about faith and recovery,” she said. “When I surrender my will to a higher power than myself, all things are possible. He helped me through. I had always believed that in my heart, and now it was happening in my life.”

Today, Mari can be the mom she always wanted to be for her four children. She doesn’t know where she would be without the support from Redwood. As she dedicates her career to helping other people overcome addiction, she shares a piece of advice that can motivate and inspire people in their own journeys: “You might not see the light at the end of the tunnel at first, but if you just stay, you will. Do one productive thing everyday. Start small, and don’t give yourself unmanageable goals. As you accomplish them, you’ll find the confidence in yourself to continue.”

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