Former meth users reach out to others continuing their recovery
and regaining custody of their families
Morgan Hill – A local group of graduates of drug dependency programs wants to reach out to others walking down a painful road of therapy, counseling and detoxification to regain custody of their children.

“We know what they’re experiencing and we want to be there as a resource for them,” said Morgan Hill resident Karen Hooper, who, with two close friends is working on establishing a non-profit organization to provide what they call “after care” for recovering addicts.

Hooper, who said she hit rock bottom with her arrest in March, said a life “post-system” can be more difficult than people realize.

“At first, when the judge gives you the seal of approval to get your kids back, asking you if you’re going to need any help, you’re just like, ‘No, just give me my kids,’ and you’re so happy, you can’t imagine; then, two or three days later, it sinks in,” she said. “All this time, you’ve been focusing on yourself, to get better so you can get your kids back, and now you have to be a full-time parent again.”

Ideally, the organization that Hooper and her friends are forming would step in at this point, she said, and either provide a friendly opportunity for the recovering addict to vent or provide childcare so the parent could take a breather and adjust to the situation.

Hooper said she and her friends see it as a way of expanding their recovery, growing their friendships and taking the best of what they have learned during their recovery periods and offering it to others.

It will also be therapeutic, she said.

“I guess it’s our way of saying thank you for all the support we’ve been given, for the fact that we’ve been able to put our lives back together,” she said. “God has blessed me in so many ways, and I want to keep on learning and growing, finding ways to reach out for others. I think this is something that can be really important. My friends and I believe in this, it is so important to us. There is no organization that offers something quite like this.”

Once the legalities of the organization are straightened out, Hooper said, she will publicize information on how recovering addicts can contact them.

“We’ve hit the ground running, we’ve already received some donations and some offers from people to give their time, we just now need to straighten everything out,” she said. “Then we’ll let people know how to find us.”

Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com.

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