Meet a Resident: Michelle
Michelle grew up in New Orleans, Louisianna, and like many kids, had a very normal childhood, surrounded by family and friends that loved her deeply. She grew up in the church and knew and trusted in Jesus from a young age.
But when her mother passed away when Michelle was just 17, and then two years later just two days after her 19th birthday, when her father passed away, Michelle was broken. And the only one she could find to blame was God.
Feeling angry and betrayed, Michelle turned from God and turned towards alcohol instead. She had never drunk up until this point in her life and felt desperate to hide it from her friends and family. She continued this pattern while she married and had two kids all while working and going to school full time.
Michelle eventually divorced her first husband and married another man. He moved her to Albuquerque, NM while she was pregnant with her third child. She stayed married to him for 14 years, all the while being abused and controlled by him. Her alcoholism continued to get worse during this time and she found herself experimenting with cocaine to cope. And if all that wasn’t bad enough, she found out that her husband had been molesting her 7-year-old daughter. Michelle snapped and doesn’t remember what happened next, but when she came back too, she found him on the floor with a cut above his eye and her holding a baseball bat.
Michelle went to prison for premeditated assault and was sentenced to two years in prison and 10 year’s probation. During her probation, she had to go back to prison for three additional years for her continued alcohol addiction.
When Michelle finished serving her time, a friend told her about Steelbridge and she came right away, not knowing anything about the program. It was quite a shock when she arrived at Steelbridge and found out it was a Christ-based program after she had given up on God so many years ago. She kept hearing a voice telling her this is where she needed to be though. She recalls that the first 60 days were the hardest, talking to no one and only focusing on why God had put her here and opening herself up to him and what the bible was saying to her.
After that first 60 days, she felt an immense sense of peace at being here that only continues to grow to this day. Now Michelle is the women’s house leader, leading bible studies, and talking to the girls about any concerns, and making anyone that comes in feel as comfortable and welcome as possible. She loves her role here and describes it as giving her a sense of purpose and reassurance that this is where she needs to be. Michelle has been at Steelbridge for 9 months so far and is staying an extra year because Steelbridge and everyone in it have become family to her. She is now reconnected with her children and is attending Agape bible college. She emphasizes that Steelbridge has brought direction to her life and brought her back into the eyes of Christ.
