A Letter from Bridgette
Date: September 2nd, 2018
In 2016 I was hired at the 12-24 club, five days after I had been released from incarceration. I had not worked for two years prior. I was given a chance when I felt hopeless and lost. This chance blossomed into much more for me. I was treated with kindness, love, and respect by all I had encountered. This was new to me because in my life I was taken into the miserable, dark, depths that active addiction swallows one into in mind, body, and soul. After some time, I had realized I had friends that cared about me just to care about me, no motives attached. I shared laughs for the first time in such a long time. A door had opened inside me. The door was to be valued. I was valued as a hard-working employee, coworker, friend, and much more; as a human being. I became part of something much bigger than myself; a connection. The first time I had felt I was exactly where I was supposed to be; at the club. That sense of purpose I had lost many years ago. The happiness and love that the customers and fellow staff had radiated into me. I do not believe I would be the person I am today if I had not had the 12-24 club in my life. It was my safe place, my sanctuary when I felt I had nowhere to turn and still is to this day.
-Bridgette |