The holidays are around us. It’s a time for togetherness with family and friends but for many including our Alpha Home Alumnae it wasn’t always that way.
Valarie is an Alpha Home Alumnae and says she knows she could have lost it all. She once overdosed and was addicted to pain killers and heroin.
She now lives in a sober living house, with her 9-year-old daughter Kaylen. Valarie calls her little girl her “partner” and credits her for helping her stay strong.
![](https://www.alphahome.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_36571-300x300.jpg)
Valarie and her daughter, Kaylen (2017)
“I had everything going on for me on the outside,” Valarie said. “But inside it was so miserable and dark.”
Valarie says one Christmas she ended up spending all of her saved money for presents and used it instead to purchase heroin.
“On Christmas morning, I didn’t want to wake up my daughter,” she said recalling the holiday. “I felt shamed, guilty. I’ll never forget that feeling of not wanting to wake her up. I got sober after that because it was so devastating.”
Now sober, Valarie says she happily wakes up her daughter on Christmas morning to make cinnamon rolls. It’s their special new tradition, she says.
Help those who need help like Valarie and have your donation matched this year.
Make your donation today to help keep hope alive for our Alpha Home clients this season. Help restore holidays to what they should be for so many families.
Donate to make a one-time donation here: https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/AlphaHomeInc/ChallengeGrant.html
Donate and become a monthly Alpha Home Angel here: https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/AlphaHomeInc/EndofYearCampaign.html