Wine Country Times

Sara Gonzales is a graduate of Women’s Recovery Services, and after a successful 101 days at the facility getting clean from drugs, she has had her record expunged and become a case aide, after-care facilitator, alcohol and other drugs counsel (AOD) at WRS.

Women’s Recovery Services is located in Santa Rosa, California. It is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1975, designed to help families recover due to a mother’s addiction. The goal is to break the cycle of addiction for women, which includes providing a healthy and safe residence that allows children to stay with their mothers as they learn necessary life skills to get back to being a responsible part of the community. Gonzales said her time at WRS was “life changing.”

“My life before, I thought was manageable,” Gonzales said. “But until I came to WRS and learned new ways – now I know what manageable is, and what it looks like, and that's what my life is today, and now I work for WRS, and I've been working there ever since I graduated. I’ve been on staff there for three-and-a-half years."

Gonzales was admitted to WRS on Sept. 14, 2018. She was going through a custody battle for her children and in the meantime got in trouble with the law regarding drug sales. Prior to her time at WRS, Gonzales, who has four children, said she was constantly running around trying to make things fit. She was working five jobs and also got wrapped up in selling drugs on the side, which is what got her into trouble.

Her mother, Silvia, was the one who had her put into treatment at WRS. Gonzales said she has always been her backbone and never judged, even in an uncertain time like this. Gonzales said she was so impressed with the facility, and it was much less intimidating than she originally thought going in.

"I loved my stay there,” Gonzales said. "I love the staff. I loved the homework. I loved everything about it. It was just very different, because it was my very first time, so I've never been to anything like that. When I knew I was going to go there, I thought I was going to be going into something like jail, you know, where I was really scared about having to fit in with the females there and everything. But when I got there, I was welcomed with open arms and they just wanted to help me help myself and help me fix my family. And I just never had so many women on my side before.”

Gonzales said WRS got her connected with the right treatment, the right sponsor and the right tools to help her get back on track. She said the organization helped her deal with things like stress and time management, as well as coping skills.

Now, after she has finished the program, she is helping other women in need. She is training to become an AOD counselor, and since she is in an outreach program, Gonzales goes to places like jails and schools to speak with mothers. She also pulls homeless women off the streets to help them get treatment.

Gonzales’ mother Silvia Michalek also spoke about the journey her daughter and her family have been through regarding addiction. Michalek’s oldest son was lost to drug addiction and spent time running the streets, she said. Michalek said she couldn’t stand to lose another child so she was there to support her daughter in the path to recovery.

“I was always there to support her, no matter what choice she did, and I was always there, never to turn against her for the choices she made,” Michalek said, adding that as a mother it is important to not turn your back on your child.

Michalek said without Women’s Recovery Services she would have probably lost her daughter or she would be on that path. She is happy for her daughter for getting help and being a part of WRS to help others.

“I think no better person can help those people in that situation unless they’ve gone through it themselves, because you can read it in a book and it’s all on text, but if you don’t experience it yourself, you really don’t understand what these individuals are going through,” Michalek said.

According to the WRS website, the organization offers a 120-day Residential Program for pregnant and parenting women, and this includes their children, in an eight-month AfterCare Program. This is a weekly program that is provided when successfully completing the Residential Program. It also offers up to two years for families to live in a transition home to help them get back on their feet.

Women who have infants and young children who don’t have childcare won’t be turned away from WRS, as they can be cared for in the Children’s Program on-site while mothers attend classes and recovery groups. The children can also attend community schools nearby.

Currently WRS provides shelter for 52 women and children. Public donations are accepted for basic shelter, food and counseling for residents. Donations will help with providing a safe place to eat and sleep, diapers for babies, protection from abusers and counseling.

To donate, visit https://womens-recovery-services-a-unique-place.networkforgood.com/projects/23699-support-women-s-recovery-services.