LIMA — Nicole, by her own admission, has made some “really poor decisions” during her first 28 years of life.
Pregnant at an early age, a couple of stints in prison and more than a decade hooked on heroin. That’s the condensed version of her life. During that time, she watched her mother and her brother die from their own battles with drugs. A daughter born 10 years ago resides with Nicole’s father in southeastern Ohio.
Getting pregnant again earlier last year may have initially seemed to be a continuation of those poor life choices, but as it turns out nothing could be further from the truth. Nicole (not her real name) credits 7-month-old Michael with providing the motivation to finally get her act together.
“I had hit rock bottom, but the day I had my baby my life changed. He saved me … he’s definitely a blessing from God,” Nicole says.
She began methadone treatment after Michael was born, and “I’ve been clean for five months and 12 days,” Nicole said proudly recently.
She previously resided in Dayton but realized following her son’s birth that “there’s nothing good for me there.” She has been living for the past four months at a Lima-area shelter for women.
Today is Nicole’s 29th birthday, and while she’s temporarily living in the group home setting, she’s already taken steps to improve her life. Unfortunately, her past has thrown some hurdles in her path.
She has enrolled at Rhodes State College, with dreams of earning an associate’s degree as an addiction and mental health assistant. West Ohio Community Area Partnership is helping her search for an apartment, but some landlords have been hesitant to rent to a convicted felon. The search for housing continues, and in the meantime she’s making $12 an hour at a fast food restaurant, struggling to afford childcare in the process.
“I can stay here (at the shelter) until I get an apartment,” she said. “They’ve done so much for me here. They gave me and my son a place to call home.”
Currently she finds herself in a Catch-22. When an apartment is secured, Nicole has no furnishings. Until then, she has no place to store any donations the public might generously offer.
For the immediate time, her needs are more simple.
“I could use a new laptop so I can attend online seminars for school,” she said. As far as clothing, she wears size large tops and shoes and boots in size 7 1/2.
As for Michael, Nicole says diapers (size 3) and baby formula (Enfamil Reguline) are high-priority items. He could also use a high chair and a nice walker “and he loves books.”
Nicole said any assistance would be greatly appreciated, and she wants members of the Lima community to know she is “absolutely certain” that her days of drug use are behind her.
“I’ve come farther in my five months of sobriety than I have at any time in my life,” she said, “and I’m not going to stop until my child has the best. He deserves it.”
The Adopt a Stocking Fund benefits families during the holiday season. Monetary donations can be given online at give.salvationarmy.org/stocking or via Adopt A Stocking; c/o The Salvation Army; P.O. Box 234, Lima, OH 45801. All material donations for a specific family should be dropped off at the Salvation Army, 614 E. Market St., Lima, and should include a copy of the article or the date the story appeared in The Lima News. See past stories at LimaOhio.com/tag/stocking.
