My name is Eric Wood.  I am 26 years old from Dexter, Missouri.  I’ve always had the feeling that I was going to do something “big” in this life, even though I grew up feeling rejected by my father who was very abusive and controlling because he was addicted to pain medication.  I always felt like he treated me different than he treated my 2 older brothers.  I never felt loved.  My father overdosed and we found him dead in our dining room when I was 15 years old.  At the time, I...

My name is Ian Miller.  I am 39 years old from Taft, California.  I was born to a very good family and brought up in a very loving and somewhat sheltered environment.  My family is a very multi-racial melting pot, so I was raised to love and accept others.  I was raised Catholic and had my first Holy communion with people I am still friends with to this day.  I knew God from a very young age and walked with Him to the best of my ability and understanding until about the 7th grade, when I...

My name is Jerrel Gillentine and I was born in 1978.  When I was born, my father started seeking after God and made sure that I was going to church.  I received Jesus into my heart when I was 7 years old. I now know that even though I was making bad choices, He was with me and He was protecting me. My dad owned a body shop, so, as early as second grade I can remember going there after school to sweep the floors and clean up.  Then I would go home to do my chores there. I have 10 siblings.�...

Hi, My name is Billy Starnes.  I’m 43 years old and was born in Tupelo, Mississippi.  I was raised by alcoholic parents who would get very angry when they drank.  When I was 13 years old, I found marijuana as an escape. This small compromise changed the course of my entire life.  By the time I was 17, I had quit school, got a job and was addicted to meth.  My job took me all over the United State building mini storage buildings.  I was also addicted to the money I was making. The more...

My name is Bradley Wince. I am 35 years old, from Paragould, AR.  I had a fair childhood.  When I was in the first grade people made fun of me because I had a patch on my eye because a pit bull bit me in the eye and my eye had to be put back in. I was never the same after that.  A month before I graduated high school I lost my dad and 4 of my close friends. I was supposed to be with my friends that night, but I got sick and didn’t go out with them.  They were partying and drinking and...

My name is Katlyn Juergensmeyer. I’m 27 years old from Troy, Missouri.  I grew up with 2 amazing parents and 3 siblings.  Growing up life was good.  I never needed for anything in my life, or so I thought.  I soon realized that I needed Jesus. At age 16 I went on a mission trip and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  I was on fire for God and went to church every time I could. All through High school I struggled to find out who I was.  That soon brought on depression,anxiety and...

My name is John Van Loan, I am 42 years old and I live in southwest Missouri.   I never realized the devastation alcohol would cause in my life when I started drinking at the age of 16.  I always just wanted to have fun and party. Little did I know that the alcohol and partying would eventually consume me with sin and shame that was taking me down a road that would kill me, and a road that did destroy my hope in life, along with shattering the hope and dreams of my wife Jana, my daughter...

Hello everyone, I am so honored to be sharing my testimony. My name is Carrie Mitchell, and I am 48 years old. I arrived at Freedom House two years ago on December 23 and boy has it been a journey. I didn’t wake up one day and say I was tired of living the life I was living. I woke up one day completely exhausted from years of drug addiction and alcoholism. Then I met Jesus! The road after I met Jesus has been one of tears, laughter, frustrations, joy, peace, anger, jealousy and lots and...

My name is Clair Florence.  I am 58 years old.  I was born and raised on a farm in central Illinois.  I was raised in the church and received Jesus at the age of 9, but as time went on, I didn’t act as if I was saved. I have always had issues with self-esteem, shame, and guilt.  I began drinking in high school and by the time I was in college, I was experimenting with all kinds of drugs.  I got married in 1979 and a  few years later we had two wonderful children, a boy, and a girl. ...

My name is Krista Bates-Duncan. I am 29 years old and live in Malden, Missouri. As I was growing up I went through many traumatic events that led                         up to my addiction. I lived in fear most of my life and did not have a clue as to what real love felt like. I didn’t understand what the word “love” even                              meant or what love looked like. As a child I was burned by boiling water at the age of three,...

My name is Melissa Gaydos and I’m 29 years old.  My whole life I never felt like I fit in and that I needed to be different somehow.  No matter who I was around I felt all alone.  From as long as I can remember I struggled with depression.  Like what’s the point to life or does it even matter If I’m alive.  I was bullied a lot too and walked in a lot of fear.  Why doesn’t anyone like me or why can’t I just be normal are questions that haunted me.  Pain pills took all those...

Hello everyone, my name is Carrie Mitchell.  I am 47 years old.  I was born in Memphis, TN but I was raised in New Braunfels, TX.  I had a good childhood with good parents that taught me morals and values and the importance of making good grades.  I listened and did what they told me to do.  When I was 15, I developed a rebellious streak and started drinking.  I also seemed to take the partying just a little further and a little further.  I had many other drugs involved in my...

My name is Tim Lacey. I am 63 years old, from a small town in Southeast Missouri. In my late fifties, decades of drinking had taken its toll on me. I found myself
morally and spiritually bankrupt. I was alone and hopeless. I had been in several rehabs over the years, that taught me that I was an alcoholic, and I would always
be an alcoholic. I came to a critical point in my life, after my mom’s passing and I knew something had to change. A close friend told me about Freedom...

My name is Dezirae Starcher.  I’m 27 years old, I’m from Akron, OH.  I...

My name is Kenna Cashion.  I am 32 years old.  I was raised by a stay-at-home mom and a truck driver dad.  I was always called a “miracle” baby. I was the first child of their marriage and came later in their lives. We always thought our family looked a little like the Brady bunch.  My mom had 4 children from a previous marriage and so did my dad. Being a “miracle” baby, they had given me to the Lord in their hearts before I was even born. The enemy has always been out to get me...

My name is Jessie Crank. I am 35 years old from Blytheville, Arkansas.  I am the mother of 3 beautiful girls ages 16, 15 and 12.  I grew up in a good home with 2 older sisters.  My parents were married and they both worked to provide a nice home for me and my sisters.  I grew up going to a Baptist church every Wednesday and twice on Sunday.  I got saved by asking Jesus into my heart at the age of 8 but I never had a relationship with Him.  When I was 12 years old, my parents got...

My name is Patrick Cook.  I am 40 years old and from St. Louis, Missouri.  I was raised by parents who did well but were alcoholics.  Growing up, I always felt different and had very few friends.  I also had a hard time fitting in anywhere because I was a very sick kid and couldn’t participate in what “normal kids” do which led to me feeling left out and very alone.  Growing up, I always said that I would never smoke, drink or do drugs and I didn’t until I went to college. That�...

My name is Jody Thompson, and I am a 42-year-old mom to 3 amazing kids. I was raised in church and got saved and baptized when I was young. There was
a lot of love in my family, but there was pain as well. My dad was an alcoholic which caused turmoil in our home. As I got older, there were more and more
“excuses” not to go to church. I started experiencing anxiety, depression and tension headaches and was prescribed psych and pain meds as a cure. This was
the beginning...

   My name is Brian Nix.  I am 45 years old and was raised in Birmingham,...

My name is Tonya Leigott.  I am 29 years old, from Trumann, Arkansas.  I came from a very dysfunctional home.  When I was younger, my parents were in a mess, along with my Aunt and Uncle, it was just kind of a family thing…When I was about 8 years old; my parents let my grandparents adopt me.  My grandparents tried to give me everything that my parents couldn’t, which in turn made me spoiled and emotionally unbalanced.  My best friend died leaving my 18th birthday party after a night...

My name is Ryan Burhans. I am 40 years old. I was born in Wisconsin. When I was around fifteen my parents got divorced and I was left alone
a lot and I felt rejected. That’s when my drinking started. I moved out when I was sixteen and had my first child. The drinking got worse because
it numbed the pain of rejection that I felt. I have had many jobs and two marriages that ended due to my drinking. All these years of drinking, I
only had one accident. I know it was because...

      My name is Whitney Burnette.  I am 29 years old from Wynne,...

My name is Tanner McCormick.  I’m 22 years old from Kennett, Missouri.  I am the oldest of 3 siblings.  My mother was addicted to pain pills, but she tried the best she could.  She blacked out a lot, so I basically raised my younger brother and sister until I was 11 years old. My mother got a boyfriend and I became very bitter.  When I was 13, I went to live with my father who I had only met once before in my life.  This turned out to be a bad decision.  I started drinking and...

My name is Melissa Jones.  I am 46 years old.  My life has never been what some call “normal”.  My dad was in prison until  I was around 12  years old.  Then when he  came home,  he was a  drug dealer  which  was   my introduction to cocaine, meth, marijuana and even the needle.  By the time I was 15, I was injecting cocaine and meth daily and had dropped out of school.  My dad ended up back in prison which left me with my mom who basically could not control me.  I ran...

Hi, my name is Nathan Dell.  I am 26 years old and I am no longer a methamphetamine addict!  I spent the last 4 to 6 years of my life using drugs and hanging out with the wrong groups of people.  During that time, I turned away from Jesus  and  lost sight of who I was.  I found myself alone and broken; for the first time in my life, I was afraid that  I  may  not  make it to see tomorrow.  I realized that I needed help because I no longer even knew who I was.  I found freedom in �...

 My name is Jacob Barnes.  I was born in 1997 in Jackson, Tennessee.  When I was young, my parents moved us to Kennett, Missouri because my father was from there.  My parents were young, and my dad couldn’t handle the pressure, so he drank and used drugs and hung out with the wrong people, often leaving me and my mom and sisters to fend for ourselves.  Eventually, my parents split up and my mom ended up moving all of us in with her boyfriend in a nice house.  This didn’t last long...

Hi, my name is Justin Finley and I am 33 years old. I was raised by my grandparents, which is a decision my mother made due to her addiction. I was raised in church and taught right from wrong. Whenever I visited my mother, I would get molested by her boyfriend. This led to anger and depression. I was bullied to the point where I had to change schools. I started to hang out with the wrong crowd, they accepted me with open arms. They introduced me to witchcraft at the age of 13 and by the age...

        My name is Kimberly Tomlinson.  I was born and raised in Pocahontas, Tennessee.  The Lord blessed me with a great family that taught me about Jesus at a young age.  I received salvation when I was young and even though I took the wrong path for a while, I know that Jesus was with me keeping me safe the entire time.  In high school, I started hanging out with what I thought were the “cool kids”.  I can remember just riding around and getting drunk and high with them. ...

My name is Angela Holland. I am 61 years old from Kennett, Missouri. My dad was an alcoholic and abusive to me. He would fill my bottles with alcohol before I even learned to crawl. This had a huge effect on my life. I was saved and baptized at an early age but did not really have a relationship with Jesus. By seventh grade I was drinking and smoking pot. The drug use just got worse and led to severe depression. As a result of my drug use, I eventually went to prison. While in prison, I...

Hi there! My name is Susan Flanagan. I am a 42 year old mother of 3 boys and I was born in Blytheville, Arkansas.  My father left when I was 2 years old, so my mother raised me and my brother and sister by herself.  We were very poor. I remember that my mom moved us around a lot because she was an          alcoholic and we went through several “stepdads.”  Because my mom wasn’t very responsible, I felt the need to become more responsible.  I was just a little girl and I was...