Wine Country Times

Women caring for infants and young children are not turned away from addiction treatment at Women’s Recovery Services (WRS) because they don’t have to leave their children to get the help they need. Tawny Nelson was able to attend recovery groups and classes while her son Dean was cared for in the on-site Children's Program or attended nearby community schools.

In August of 2021, Tawney Nelson and her son Dean were injured in a car accident. Tawney was prescribed pain pills and became addicted to them. When she ran out of her prescribed pain pills, she resorted to buying them through illegal means. In January of 2022, Tawney took some pain medication that she didn't know was actually Fentanyl and overdosed. Luckily, her three-year-old son found her and got her grandfather who called 911 to save her life. The next day, Tawney called WRS. 

Tawney was admitted to WRS and she and Dean were able to stay together during her recovery. Tawney shared what Dean's experience in the Children's Program was like while she was attending recovery. 

"For the first couple weeks he went to the children's program, and he did love being there," Tawney told Wine Country Times. "He had been going to preschool prior to that, and he went to his old school they were able to drive him, but when he was sick or the school was closed, he went to the children's program and he loved it there. He loved Elodia very much, the lady who runs it. Most of the time that we were in there he was the only child, so he got to be alone with her a lot when he was there, and they would go on walks to the Burbank Gardens and do art projects. I like that he did stuff like this, like little art projects with her, and would bring it to me. He loved doing art projects with her and playing and building things and going on walks."

Tawney said that having Dean near as she went through the process of recovery made the ordeal much easier to handle. 

"It was amazing. I would have been able to do it, but it would have been really hard," Tawney said. "In the beginning, when I decided that I was going to go, my sister offered to take him while I went and I was just on the ground screaming and crying because we had never been apart from each other. I just couldn't even imagine. So I told her to just give me a few days to try to figure something else out first and do what I have to do. So I knew of WRS and that I was able to bring him with me and it helped us so much, to be able to grow together and learn, and I'm so thankful that he got to witness me get better, off of the pills. Witness all of it and just be there with me." 

Tawney was able to stay at a Women's Recovery Service Mission House during recovery and she described what living at a Mission House was like.

"The Mission House is one of their sober living houses," Tawney said. "There's I believe, three, and they're just different names, like Sunset, Mission, and I don't remember the other one. But this one is called Mission, because it's on Mission Boulevard. It's a sober living house and it's great because we can live here for up to two years. Dean and I have our own room, and it's great for extra accountability to have random testing and have a curfew and have a safe place, where I don't have to worry about being around anyone using or anything like that."

Upon admission to the Mission House, Dean received a race car bed and a brand-new bicycle from WRS to make his stay a little easier.

Tawney is currently enrolled in DAAC Perinatal, an outpatient program for mothers. She says that she is working with her sponsor and working on trauma therapy to grow and that she'll soon be seeking employment. Inspired by her experience at WRS, Tawney told Wine Country Times that her goal is to go to school to be a drug and alcohol counselor so she can work in rehab and help mothers going through the same thing that she went through.

When asked where she would be if she hadn't sought help, Tawney said "I think I for sure would have lost custody of my son. I don't think I would be alive."

Located in Santa Rosa, California, Women’s Recovery Services is a nonprofit organization founded in 1975 that helps families heal after being broken by a mother’s addiction. Their goal is to break the cycle of addiction for women in a safe, healthy setting, helping neglected children get their mothers back and allowing them to live together while learning the life skills necessary to become responsible community members.

WRS offers a 120-day Residential Program for pregnant and parenting women as well as their kids, a Children’s Program, and an eight-month AfterCare program. AfterCare is a weekly program provided upon successful completion of the Residential Program. WRS also offers up to two years for families to live in a transition home while getting back on their feet.

Currently providing shelter for 52 women and children, WRS is seeking donations to help provide basic shelter, food and counseling for its residents. Donors will help weave a “safety net” for providing women and children with a safe, clean place to eat and sleep, diapers and food for babies, protection from their abusers and counseling to help them make better choices.

Visitors can donate online here. WRS also hosts fundraisers through its Facebook page.