Sarah Marquez, 34
Where she was: “I was addicted to substances for a very long time. That led me to losing my kids and my family. I went down a road of committing crimes. That led me to drug court. They weren’t able to find a placement. That led me to a halfway house.”
What changed: “They gave me an opportunity to go to Ready to Work. Once I got in there, I completed my probation. They got me into the kitchen. I’ve been able to stay sober. I can’t even tell you what Bridge House and Ready to Work have done for me – being able to work hard, to be stable …”
How it started: “I was born in Boulder and raised in Longmont. I’ve never been out of the state. … I smoked marijuana and drank up until age 22. … (My kids) were 5 and 3. I ended up pregnant again. I gave that child up for adoption, because of my inability to talk to my family and stand up to my family, I hid my pregnancy. That wasn’t the best idea. I didn’t get educated on the effect that adoption and post-partum has on a person. That led me down the road to drugs. … I went down … I started using meth and coke. With meth, all my feelings were disconnected. I no longer felt. That’s the ultimate goal, right?” “Right after, a couple months after, I lost custody of my children.” Marquez had another child, Zack, now 10. Her grandparents took custody.
Finding her voice: “I’ve had to lose connection with my family. Everyone in my family used some kind of substance … I don’t talk to my mom now, to my siblings, because of their drug use. … Back then I was not strong enough to talk about what I was going through.” “There were not the resources then. I don’t blame the system. I take a lot of responsibility. I didn’t have the courage and strength and hope to speak up with my situation.”
A different, better life: “I’m going to have physical custody (of Zack), while we work on legal custody. He’s counting down the days (till) ‘when I live with Mommy.’ I started therapy again. I’m starting a situation back with my son. I want … to do it right. I have a therapist to talk about it and make sure I’m processing things good. I don’t want to go back to being overwhelmed and that same person.” Marquez is engaged to be married. She met her fiance on her journey to recovery. “It’s the (Ready to Work) rule I broke – getting into a relationship. There have been a lot of relationships that didn’t work out at the house. I’m proud to be able to maintain my sobriety, to go against the odds. Me and him made it through. He’s a good man.”
Inside and out: “I wake up at 5 a.m. I go to the Y for a half hour to train for a 5K. Health has been the biggest thing of my life. I’ve got my insides healthy. Now I’m trying to focus on the outside. I’m trying to get bariatric surgery. There’s a lot of things I continue to focus on instead of idle hands. I don’t want to become the person I was. I don’t like that person.”
