KYLA

KYLA

Kyla had a good childhood. Her parents were pretty lenient. She played sports and had fun. There was a history of alcohol and drug abuse in her family, but she didn’t know anything about that. Then, at the age of 13, she received a message from a stranger via MySpace. She found out that her stepdad was not her real dad. She was shocked.

“I felt betrayed and started acting rebellious.”

At the age of 14, she started drinking with her aunt who is one year older than her. It was high school and she thought her drinking and partying were normal.

“There was a void in my heart. I didn’t feel accepted; didn’t feel like I fit in.”

And freshman year, that void took her to a whole new place. She tried heroin. Her friends were all doing it and she was so angry still. Her boyfriend used heroin too. So, she started using it more and more. In her Junior year, she was introduced to crystal meth. Her using was affecting everything in her life. She couldn’t juggle school work and drug use, so she dropped out of school. The drugs became more important. She lost contact with her parents and siblings. Her drugs became more important than family. She ignored their pleas to get help.

“I wasn’t willing to get help, so I would pretend I was going to get help and then I would leave and start using again.”

She would go through detox, but leave before rehab programs started. She was a homeless teen and began stealing for drug money. She would date a guy just to have a place to stay for a few weeks. And then, it got even worse; she started sleeping with men for money

“I lost all respect for myself because I went to a place I never thought I would go.”

Then Kyla got pregnant. She continued to use. Her mom told her, “If something happens to the baby, you might as well lose my number.”

“I couldn’t get high enough to forget that I was going to lose my baby and my family.”

Then, she found NCADD. They placed her in Legacy House. She spent two weeks on methadone – an extraordinarily short time for detox – but she was determined not to place her baby in any more danger. She moved to Sally’s Place where she was surrounded by a community who had been through similar trials in their lives; a community who understood and supported her.

“They gave me the support that I needed through everything. They’ve been there for me no matter what. They helped me feel wanted”

Due to her early use, her baby was born addicted. The Arizona Department of Child Safety came to talk to her. They found out she was living at Sally’s Place and gave the OK for the baby to live with Kyla under supervision there. Kyla is now one year sober. She was reunited with her family and has a support system through the programs at NCADD. She is working on her GED and getting her life back on track.

“I have my family back I have a relationship with my brothers and my sister. NCADD gave me a chance to be sober, a chance to be with my son.”