I had never heard of the Ed Keating Center until July 2010, when I made a friend who was a resident at the Center. I saw all the support he received, and I thought that if the men could be so kind and loving to one another, maybe there was hope for me, a woman with my own drinking problem. In late October 2010 I started attending meetings and functions at the Center, and I met Katie Potter and learned about the Jean Marie House.

A few weeks later on November 24, it was the night before Thanksgiving and no one in my family wanted me with them for the holiday. But I was welcomed by the women at Jean Marie House. I went there scared and alone, walking away from everything I knew. It was the best decision of my life. God brought me to that house and to AA. The staff, facilitators and women I lived with believed in me when no one else did. For the next 9 months, they taught me how to love myself, how to pray, and what recovery was. I would never trade the relationships I have built in that house and the blessings I have witnessed.

“I went there scared and alone, walking away from everything I knew. It was the best decision of my life.”

After completing the program, I continued to feel their support. Marty, Kati and Paige made sure that when I moved into my own home my kids would have beds to sleep in and food to eat. Even to this day, I know if I need anything, I can call. They are always there with encouraging words when I feel weak, and today I call them my friends!

The Jean Marie House taught me how to be a mother, daughter, sister and friend.