Vanessa describes her early family life as ideal on the outside, but dysfunctional behind closed doors. With two older sisters who were drug addicts, she was exposed to substance abuse early on in life, but didn’t really start using until her husband left her with a young daughter to care for by herself. Her excessive drinking and rampant drug abuse led to a five-year drug addiction to crack cocaine that left her homeless, landed her in jail, and almost killed her on multiple occasions. She was ready to give up her life because of her drug addiction, when she was arrested and placed in mandatory treatment. It was here that she made the decision to change her life and dedicate herself to getting well. Vanessa’s commitment to treatment paid off. She took her sponsor’s advice and did the necessary work to successfully complete her program. Today she is the Director of Guest Services at Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches, where she helps others find the strength that she channeled during the darkest days of her dependency to launch their own recovery from drug and alcohol dependency.