Grace went through our Bonita House Residential Treatment Program (BHRTP) at 1410, who presents as timid, quiet, and cooperative. She has a child that at the time of intake she was estranged from due to drug use. Grace has a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, moderate and a history of abusing methamphetamines, cannabis, and alcohol. Grace has a significant history of neglect as a child due to her own parent's substance use and went to live with her aunt and uncle when she was young. Her mother also struggled with Schizophrenia.
At 13 she went to live with a different aunt, who was the closest thing she had to a healthy, supportive, mother figure. That aunt was later killed by Grace’s cousin who also struggled with substance use and mental health challenges. Grace is highly motivated for recovery. Her primary motivation for treatment is her desire to connect with and be a mother to her son. She is brightest when talking about her child and is proud that she was a good mother to her child at birth, breastfeeding, and taking care of her child while in parenting classes and receiving support from a local Hospital years ago.
For Grace “My child is my sobriety”. One of her treatment objectives is “Grace would like to connect and build healthy relationships with her child and improve her relationship and communication skills with her child’s father through family involvement in treatment and counseling at BHRTP. Grace, with staff support and intervention, has made significant progress in beginning to reach out for support and connection while maintaining sobriety since she began treatment. She now has regular visits with her son both at Bonita House, and at her child’s home, including overnights with her child.
She has maintained her sobriety, has explored and signed up to volunteer as a dog walker both as a personal coping skill and to build job skills, and is currently exploring taking further parenting classes to support her desire to be a strong, healthy, parent to her child. Our focus in working with Grace is on building her basic social skills, needed to maintain her mental health and substance recovery through relationships with others, both as a mother, co-parent, in a place of employment, and socially as a means to make and maintain supportive friendships.
