Dawn’s Freedom Hi, my name is Dawn Irey. I've struggled with addiction most of my life, starting at age 12 with drinking, then experimenting with shrooms and PCP and acid throughout my teen years. By age 18, I occasionally used coke, and that started my downward spiral of crack, bath salts, meth, pills, K2, almost anything I could get my hands on. I hated myself and I hated my life. I could only hope that I would overdose. I was too afraid to commit suicide but no longer had any desire to live as an active drug addict and dealer. Soon I found myself in jail. I lost everything that mattered to me. I lost custody of my daughter. I lost my apartment, and all my belongings, and I lost my freedom. I was completely and utterly broken.

But for me jail ended up being the beginning of a new life. I met Chaplain Thomas who shared with me the love of God and led me to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior. I felt the chains of addiction break off me and the love of Jesus wash over me. For the very first time in my life, I felt like I had hope. That was several years ago. Today, I stand free in a wonderful life that God has restored to me. I am married to a man who loves Jesus, and our children are at the very center of our lives. We both are active in our church and recovery community. I would never had made it this far without God and people willing to invest in me. They taught me how to replace healthy habits with old ones. They taught me how to love myself because everything God created has value. I never saw myself that way before. I look forward to growing even more, giving back and paying it forward at every opportunity that God brings to me.

We Do Recover,
Dawn Irey