Phoenix Center: Lea’s Story
Family
A young mother of two children, Lea, battled substance use disorder, a leading cause of family collapse and harm to children. Lea desperately wanted a better life for her and her children, and she clung to the hope that it was possible. Lea connected with Serenity Place and found a safe, stable community offering a six-month residential treatment program.
The peer support Lea received was life changing. A peer support specialist is someone who has personally lived experience with addiction and sustaining recovery. Like a trusted friend or mentor, they offer support to new participants joining the program. Lea’s peer support specialist was vital to her success at Serenity Place.
Serenity Place provided wrap-around support services to aid Lea in achieving recovery, allowing her to earn an Associate’s Degree and find a job in the field of engineering. Serenity Place is a beautiful location where women and their children can recover together. Lea is one of approximately 120 mothers and children who will find hope, healing, and transformation this year. At any given time, Serenity Place can house up to 48 women and children.
Serenity Place, in cooperation with The Phoenix Center, exists to serve families and help those with substance use disorders. It is one of the few residential treatment programs that allows children up to the age of six to live with their mother throughout recovery. After program completion, graduates are connected with transitional housing resources such as Front Porch Housing and United Ministries Housing, with the goal of moving into a permanent home. This process of recovery to self sufficiency can take years.
Serenity Place operates under the umbrella nonprofit, The Family Effect, existing to heal and transform families, strengthening our communities and making society better as a whole - a mission the Greenville Homeless Alliance (GHA) passionately supports. GHA is committed to finding and implementing effective and proven solutions for people and families experiencing homelessness.
When a young mother and her children enter Serenity Place, the family has already been down a long and dangerous road. The mother is struggling with addiction, and without help, she is about to lose her children to the foster care system – possibly forever. She’s also likely escaping from sexual abuse. For every five young mothers that come to Serenity Place for help, four have experienced trauma, and this abuse often plays a role in the onset of the mother’s addiction.
The children have suffered through no fault of their own, and often come to Serenity Place traumatized and confused. Their daily lives have veered from chaos to deadening neglect, without rhyme or reason. They are often delayed on several developmental levels and emotionally unable to connect. Without help, they will be unprepared for any kind of classroom environment.