“Hello, my name is Aida and I have two sons who went through the program at New Life. Our journey with New Life started 10 years ago when my oldest was 18 years old. Before we found New Life, I wanted to make his addiction go away and I thought I could do that with love and determination. I tried everything possible. We even sent him to a lockdown facility in Nevada his senior year of high school, trying to save him. None of that worked and I was hopeless and I felt I was losing my baby. Then we found New Life and that was the best thing that happened to our family.
I remember when we dropped him off and I got to meet some of the boys who lived in the house. I was thinking to myself, “Those kids cannot be addicts. Those kids cannot be as bad as my son. These kids look perfect.” I thought that day, my son can never be like them. He’s too spoiled and will never follow the house rules and become one of those kids. Then I started settling and thought to myself, “It’s okay. He does not need to be as perfect as these kids. I just want him to stop doing drugs.” But guess what? A few months into the program, he became one of those kids. And he looked and behaved as perfect as the kids I met the day we dropped him off. After 10 years, he is the perfect example of the product of New Life. He went to college and got a bachelor’s degree, then got his master’s and now has a great career and a wonderful life that makes every parent proud. I have never seen transformations like this.
New Life is unlike other programs. This program is intense and highly structured, but that is what these kids need. They need skills that they carry into the world. New Life gives them the tools and foundation needed to manage life. It gives them the opportunity to accomplish things they would have never accomplished prior to the house. Things like graduating high school, going to college, getting a job, living on their own, and supporting themselves financially. It is always such a pleasure watching these young men turn their lives around. Watching them all go through the process is absolutely amazing.
New Life offers support in every stage of the journey. The support does not stop when they graduate the program and move out of the house and that’s what makes the program unique and successful. Graduates stay connected to the house and each other, as long as they choose to do so. Their care for one another, even long after they leave, is absolutely beautiful.
New Life has many events for the in-house members, graduates, alumni and their families. Our family still attends the annual picnic, holiday parties, San Diego support meetings and many other events that New Life hosted throughout the years. I always look forward to these events.
I cannot say enough about the program. I will be forever grateful for this program and its leadership.”
-Aida S.
Last Updated on September 12, 2024
