Finding a Path Home, Kristy’s Story
Finding a Path Home
OhioGuidestone and the Medina County ADAMH board helped pave the way home for Kristy Ferguson, a Texas native who landed in the Medina County Jail after a traffic stop turned into a jail sentence for drug possession. She had been on her path home from Buffalo, New York, but it would be two years before she would get there, and she would be a different person when she did.
On August 15, 2022, Kristy was released from the Medina County jail – with no money, no way to get home, nowhere to stay, and no one to call for help. She remembered a visitor who had left her phone number.
Rebecca Emery, a Peer Recovery Supporter from OhioGuidestone came to the jail to talk about substance use disorder and the help that’s available for people who want to recover from substance use.
Substance use had cost more than just her freedom; Kristy lost jobs and relationships, including her family. “I wanted to be a better mother, a better friend, and a trustworthy employee, but I didn’t have the right tools to get there,” she said.
“We had one open bed, and we were able to get Kristy in,” said Caroline Healey, manager of OhioGuidestone’s Discovery Recovery House, a recovery house for women in Medina. “Kristy understood and accepted that we have strict house requirements, and she would stay there to receive treatment and would follow our guidance to get better.”
Kristy embraced the Discovery Recovery community and the resources provided by the Medina ADAMH board, which owns the Discovery Recovery House.
“We connected her as fast as possible to all our services: Assessment, IOP (Intensive Outpatient Program), peer support, Workforce 360°, and counseling,” Caroline said, citing OhioGuidestone’s whole person approach to care by removing barriers that can get in the way of recovery.
Kristy quickly found a job and a sponsor and became a role model for the women around her.
Now, nearly 2 years after her arrest, and with approval from the court and her parole officer, Kristy is returning on her path home to Texas. She said she has learned new tools that will stay with her long after her time at the Discovery Recovery House.
Kristy is most excited to reunite with her two daughters and for her family to meet the person she has become: empowered and healthy with a great desire to work hard and help others.
“When I gave my 2 weeks’ notice at my job in Ohio, I realized that’s the first time I’ve ever left a job in a respectable way,” she said.
“Addiction took every single thing from Kristy,” Caroline says, “but she picked herself up and became grateful for all that was placed in front of her.”
A new job and a supportive community are in place for Kristy in Texas. She eventually would like to develop a recovery center in her hometown so she can help other women by sharing what OhioGuidestone gave to her. Ohio might not be home for Kristy, but it is where her new path was born, and where her OhioGuidestone friends and support are always available.
Kristy’s Story, Finding a New Path Home, was featured in our Fall 2023 Seeds of Hope. To read more inspiring success stories like Kristy’s, check out our other Seeds of Hope publications and more on our blog!