Resident Spotlight: Betty Jo
Like many YW Housing residents, Betty’s story began when she was far too young.
“I started using when I was 19” she recalled. Both of her parents were drug users and that was the life she knew.
After struggling with her addiction for years, Betty moved to California to get clean and be with family. But while there she fell in love, and she and her partner relapsed. “We were on and off together, still using, still using. It was pretty scary, you know,” she noted, “We never had a place to live. We were homeless and couch surfing.” Then she found out she was pregnant.
“When I was 3 months pregnant I went into detox.” Betty explained, but the voluntary detox wasn’t enough to keep her clean so Betty turned herself in for outstanding warrants. “I spent 5 months in jail and Alli was born clean.”
Then tragedy struck. At six months old, Alli rolled out of bed and passed away; the cause of death still unknown. “When that happened I could not handle it so I went head first into drugs. I was slowly killing myself.”
Six months later she was pregnant again. “I got scared when I was pregnant because I didn’t want the same thing to happen.” She decided to change her life, to leave her bad influences behind and move back to Washington where she could stay clean for her soon-to-be baby girl.
Betty stayed clean and sober throughout the pregnancy and on August 14, 2007, Kyliegh Faith was born. She was a happy, healthy, beautiful baby girl, but due to Betty’s history with drugs, CPS came and took Kyliegh away.
“It was awful. It was horrible. I felt like I stayed clean for nothing,” Betty remembered painfully “It was all based on my past history.” She knew she needed to get help if she was going to get her baby back. That is when she found YW Housing.
“Living at YW Housing meant that I didn’t have to use anymore. I wasn’t around drugs and I was so grateful for that.”
Betty’s case manager offered no slack to the young mother. “I was told to do 90 meetings in 90 days, so I stayed and worked really, really hard. I completed treatment and parenting classes.”
Getting clean and sober helped Betty face her second problem: she had warrants in California, and CPS insisted that Betty handle her warrants before Kyliegh could be returned. Betty spent almost four months in California while YW Housing kept her room open so that she should have a safe home to come back to.
“I love the structure of YW Housing — the fact that I come home and know what to expect. There’s not going to be anyone drunk here, nobody is going to be high. It’s the same thing every day. I have keys to my room and the front door, and nobody will change the locks. If you start slipping up, somebody is going to say something. Plus,” she glowed, “it’s safe for Kyliegh.”
On Tuesday, August 19, Kyliegh Faith returned home to her mother.
The following is an excerpt from a letter written by Betty to YW Housing during her stay in jail:
“Every day that I am here my baby is getting a little bit older, and I am missing everything. She’s going to be walking soon. She needs me to come home as much as I need to come home. I feel that it is time to begin moving forward with my life, and that starts when I come home.”