THINGS ARE DIFFERENT NOW
THINGS ARE DIFFERENT NOWBack in 2022, when Guiding Light was preparing to open two sober-living homes for women, Tori learned about an opportunity to manage one of them. The idea made her nervous and excited.
Her past experience with sober living was not great. That included getting kicked out of a program in Florida.
She ended up living in her car, scrounging for food, bathing in the ocean.
But things were different now. She had achieved years of sobriety after finally breaking free from cycles of recovery and relapse into heroin addiction. And she liked what she saw when a staff member invited her to Thanksgiving dinner at Guiding Light.
“I found it amazing that you go through treatment here and you have this community that you can stick with forever. You can come back to these events! It was awesome to see them come together for things like that.”
After some soul-searching, she decided to give it a shot. Today she is still the house manager for Esther’s House, one of Guiding Light’s two sober living communities for women. The homes provide that stable sense of community and continuity for women who complete the residential recovery program for women that Guiding Light launched this year.
But now, Tori is also a case manager for Guiding Light’s newer Women’s Recovery Program.
OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE
Now, as Tori approaches four years of sobriety, she uses her own experience to help other women on a journey she knows very well.
“I do a lot of one-on-one coaching with the women, and I always start off with, ‘Listen, I’ve walked in your shoes, I’m in recovery as well. I’m no better than you or less than you. We are on the same level, trying to accomplish the same things.’”
Tori said one of the strengths of Guiding Light’s approach to sober living — including the Iron House community for men — is that it is all part of a process. These are not just places to live, but a supportive continuation of long-term treatment and community-building.
“It is so rewarding to watch these women push through to discomfort and better their lives,” she said. “I can just see a change in them, and it’s like a miracle is happening.”
There again, she knows what that’s like. She had to overcome her own discomfort to take on the role at Esther’s House.
“It pushed me out of my comfort zone. Looking back, it’s probably what I needed still early in my recovery, to be around other women in recovery. It led me down this road of being part of Guiding Light’s community. So I’m very grateful that I ended up doing it. I really enjoy being there for the next person. This is why we’re here on this earth.”
