Vanessa: When are you going to get your life together?

In early January of 2019 Vanessa was released from jail. Only a few days after her release she read in the Hermiston newspaper that she was the target of a local drug sting by the Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics Team. Panic set in, “I don’t want to go to jail again!” thought Vanessa.

Just days before, she had run into her estranged father at a local fast food restaurant, his parting words haunted her, “When are you going to get your life together?” Later, when she was by herself, she contemplated, “When am I going to get my life together?” Now, faced with going back to jail after a short release she reached out to her friend Melinda. Melinda that had escaped  the drug lifestyle and was now building a better life for her and her children. “I knew Melinda from way back, seeing her success gave me hope,” explains Vanessa.

Melinda is a Case Manager at the Union Gospel Mission LifeChange for Women and Their Children in Beaverton, Oregon. Several years ago, Melinda was on the road to destruction due to addiction and crime. Now, Melinda has graduated college, is sober, employed and a wonderful mother to her children. The UGM LifeChange for Women and Their Children helped pave the way for Melinda’s recovery, breaking the cycle of generational abuse and addiction for her and her children.

“She’s becoming a powerful woman of God.”

Melinda remembers getting a call from Vanessa in the middle of the night, “after asking her a few questions I could tell Vanessa was truly looking to make a change in her life” says Melinda. True recovery can’t start until we are ready to commit and seek change. Once we submit to changing then God can do miraculous things with our life. “I’m proud of Vanessa,” smiles Melinda. “She’s becoming a powerful woman of God.”

We sometimes refer to this as the ripple effect. One person’s recovery can lead to friends or family members recovery, and on and on. Their stories inspire people who believe that there is no hope.

At UGM we believe that no person is beyond recovery and no one is beyond the redemptive power of Christ.

Sometimes in life we need a do-over, a way to get our lives back on track, a LifeChange.

UGM’s LifeChange is a Christ-centered recovery program where residents live and work in a community of people committed to transforming their lives and breaking the grip of addiction. LifeChange consists of, counseling, work therapy, discipleship and transitional after care, at no cost to the resident.

If you know of someone battling addiction or homelessness and they have had enough and are interested in a LifeChange, then contact our Intake Coordinator at mensintake@ugmportland.org or 503-274-4483.