Spring 2021 Appeal

Mary grew up in Fresno with two sisters and a brother. Her parents were struggling with poverty and addiction and were separated. Mary remembers a lot of back and forth living with each parent and feeling like she didn’t have a stable home. She also remembers struggling with depression.

“These things were why I turned to drugs,” says Mary. “I began using meth at 18 and continued for 7 years, until we lost one of my sisters to addiction. It was a wake-up call for me. I didn’t want my family to lose another person.

My other sister started a treatment program in San Francisco. It helped her, so I went too. And after me, my mom went.

My sister and I both went to Gracenter afterwards, I went about a year after she did when I finished the primary treatment program. I knew I needed more time and structure to stay in recovery.

When I first met with Sandra to interview for Gracenter, I didn’t have a job. Sandra was willing to work with me with no income.

Since my first day at Gracenter, it always felt like it was the right place for me. It was still scary at first to try to start learning life skills again, but they really encouraged me. We put together a plan with goals. Sandra helped me think of long- and short-term goals, and I decided which goals to set–working on getting my GED, finding housing, getting a job.

Sandra helped me with my resume and looking for and for applying for jobs. She helped connect me to training to become a desk clerk. I was able to get a permanent fulltime position as a desk clerk at Dolores Community Services, where I still work.

Sandra also encouraged me to open a savings account and start saving. I opened a bank account and started managing my money. They would have a lady from Bank of the West come and tell us about opening a savings account and a checking account. It didn’t matter if you had bad credit. I had a bank account before, but hadn’t had a savings account or money to save. I still bank there today. The lady from Bank of the West also helped me open a pre-paid credit card to build up my credit.

One of my goals was to get my high school diploma. Sandra told me about 5 Keys Charter School. I enrolled there, and Gracenter helped me with a tutor. I completed more credits toward my degree. I’m only 50 credits away. I take classes once a week since I’m working fulltime.

Gracenter also helped me with my health. They helped me schedule appointments to get check- ups with doctors and go to the dentist. They even found donors helped to pay for my dental work. Through my job I get full healthcare at Kaiser, so I still get to go to the doctor and get routine checkups. I found out that I had diabetes and I am keeping that under control, which I am able to do well because of my time at Gracenter. They encouraged healthy eating and had classes to teach us how to cook healthier and buy healthier meals. I still continue to eat healthier and make healthier decisions. We would also do walks, sometimes to the Golden Gate bridge to have a picnic, and they had a yoga class on the weekends at Gracenter.”

Thinking back about her favorite things about Gracenter, Mary shares, “I liked the structured part of Gracenter. You had to do chores, sit at the dinner table as a group, pray, and say what you are thankful for. It made me feel like it was a home.”

classes to teach us how to cook healthier and buy healthier meals. I still continue to eat healthier and make healthier decisions. We would also do walks, sometimes to the Golden Gate bridge to have a picnic, and they had a yoga class on the weekends at Gracenter.”

Thinking back about her favorite things about Gracenter, Mary shares, “I liked the structured part of Gracenter. You had to do chores, sit at the dinner table as a group, pray, and say what you are thankful for. It made me feel like it was a home.”