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Madison, Wisconsin — Addiction recovery is a long, hard road that starts with the user.
Rowena Hughes has been sober for six years, but she says she wouldn’t have made it this far if she hadn’t made the decision to turn her life around.
“I came from Chicago because I lost my home and lost my income,” Hughes said.
Hughes isn’t from Chicago, but she found herself there after an abusive relationship left her with a gunshot wound.
“I met some people and started taking medication to ease the pain. “But it was causing me problems.”
Hughes lived in Chicago for almost ten years, using heroin and living on the streets.
“Sleeping in someone else’s door, freezing to death in blankets, impatiently waiting for the sun to set,” recalls Hughes.
While in Chicago, she said, not only was her health undermining, but her relationship with her daughter and son was also damaged.
“They really didn’t want to see me. They hated the fact that I was doing what I was doing,” Hughes said.
At one point, when Hughes hit an all-time low, she decided it was time for a change. She said sometimes one of the few ways to make that happen is to start over.
Hughes packed up and moved to Madison in hopes of rebuilding his life.
In her first year in the city, she found Lutheran Social Services.
Her hard work and the help of social workers like Carla Williams, Program Supervisor for Lutheran Social Services, helped her settle down and find a place to live and make a brand new start.
(Spectrum News 1/Cody Taylor)
“I can talk to individuals about their experiences, help them, support them through crises and situations, and make plans for how they can better themselves,” Williams said.
Williams has worked with Hughes for six years.
“She decided to quit drinking the day she came in, and we’ve been helping her ever since,” Williams said.
In addition to six years of sobriety, Hughes was able to rebuild his relationship with his children. This was what her world meant to her.
“I felt great. I love both my son and daughter and I’m happy to be where I am,” Hughes said. “It looks like I didn’t miss the time.”
Hughes has spent many holidays alone on the streets, but this time he was in a warm home with his family.
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