Family helps!

by Giada
(Harlem, New york)

Hi.

My name is Giada. I was addicted to crack cocaine for 15 years. I started in 1985 when the drug was first on the market and really popular.

It was just this new thing that everyone was trying and with peer pressure being another factor in the crowds I hung around in, it was almost unavoidable.

Once I started it was like I couldn't stop. Eventually I ended up stealing for crack from friends and loved ones. Anyone who would allow me to get close enough to get access to their money; churches, friends who worked at banks, and generous family members were my next target.

That is until they caught wind of the scheme and found out that I was doing drugs. It went downhill from there. My entire family shut me out and I felt as if I had no one. This is what helped me make the decision to quit.

Even after that though, I still had no friends and no support. I ended up crying one Sunday at an alter of a church on the corner of my street. It was then that I asked God to change me and to deliver me from these cravings of crack cocaine.

After talking to members of the church and some of the clergy, I was told somewhere to seek help and a support group. After 8 months in rehabilitation I was clean and have been ever since.

For everyone who has a drug addiction and think that they can't do it, I am here to tell you that you can! You don't have to go it alone. Find help. Churches, support group, even open and willing family members are out there to help you overcome this battle.

Ultimately, the decision is up to you.