Miriam's Story
When Miriam found herself without a roof over her head and struggling once again with addiction, Chase Brexton helped her find a way to a new home and a brighter future.
As she moved into her early adulthood and began to build a career, Miriam continued to battle addictions which she says stemmed from severe abuse she suffered as a child. Those addictions eventually upended her life.
After taking a leave of absence from school, she sought treatment and was sober for a year. But she relapsed in early 2017, which led to her family cutting her off and asking her to leave their home. Finding herself newly homeless, Miriam suffered an emotional breakdown which led her to seek inpatient treatment, during which she was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. With the root of her addictions identified, she set out to rebuild her life.
“It was definitely not something I could do on my own,” she says. “That reality hit me the moment I became homeless. The moment I became homeless, that period of time, helped me to accept that change and hope are possible with whatever goal you have, if you are humble enough to accept help from others.“
Miriam was referred to Chase Brexton’s care, and less than a month and a half after she became homeless, Chase Brexton Case Manger Sara Kuperman helped get Miriam into transitional housing.
“She really took the steps,” Sara says. “We have the resources, but you have to take advantage of them. She is on top of things and energized to move forward.”
Miriam sees a Chase Brexton provider for her primary care, and is enrolled in Chase Brexton’s Intensive Outpatient Program, a unique course of treatment which combines group and individual therapy and is tailored to each patient.
“It is inspiring to see patients who, once caught by the safety net here at Chase Brexton, turn it into a ladder and climb towards their dreams,” said Behavioral Health Consultant Paul Lotz, Miriam’s therapist.
With a place to call her own and eight months of hard-won sobriety, Miriam has the stability she needs to move on with her life. She is once again a student at a local college, and will attend classes full-time in early 2018.
“Without that stability, the medication management, the therapy, and my housing, school wouldn’t be possible,” Miriam said. “The foundation that’s been laid for me by the resources that Chase has offered that has made it possible for me to rebuild my life.”
Miriam’s message for those struggling with addiction is to accept that they cannot build a better life alone, and can benefit from resources such as those offered by Chase Brexton.
“One thing I didn’t grasp early on as an addict was that you don’t have to be sober to start treatment,” she said. “But you have to take action, nobody can make you do it. If you create the desire in your mind to do it, that’s all you need. If you have that desire, then you’ve already started.”
