Nadine

I came to AAHAA while I was still in prison. I was incarcerated for having violations to the stipulations set forth in my Community corrections contract. This happened at the time the COVID-19

Alumni Client

pandemic hit. We were not able to social distance in prison, so as a nonviolent offender, I was released from the prison to serve the remainder of my time on an ankle monitor. I arrived at the East Kent house and was greeted by one of the residents. He showed me my room, the kitchen, and explained that the food in there was for the entire house. He showed me the laundry room. Everything was provided for me: Food, laundry detergent, bed, linens, everything. This was fantastic because at the time I only had the clothes on my back.

The house had a computer and internet which made it easy for me to connect with other support systems such as family to get more clothes and a bike. I loved that house. We had meetings 3 times a week, as well as a house meeting where we could voice our cares and concerns about how the house was running.

The time came for my ankle monitor to be removed and be off D.O.C. What a wonderful day that was! In the past I was prone to going right back to using when no one was watching, but I had built a great foundation for my recovery, things were going so good I did not want to mess it up. I continued to live in the East Kent AAHAA house. Then an opportunity presented itself for me to become a manager at another house. This was a relatively new house in Tukwila. I talked to Mark Hampton, the president of AAHAA. After an interview and some consideration, he approved me for that manager position. I am still here 7 months later. I have more responsibility with the program, and I also now have a great job working downtown Seattle. AAHAA has given me the tools I needed to get my life and self-esteem back. I am truly humbled and grateful to this program.