Ashlee was a Residential Treatment Program client from October 2016-October 2017
My name is Ashlee and I have maintained my sobriety for six and a half years, largely due to the support I received from Lund.
My quick back story is that I was told that I wouldn’t be able to carry a baby to term, which I took to mean that I couldn’t get pregnant. I found out that I was pregnant when I was five and a half months along and had my daughter a month later (she was ten weeks premature). Because of my history of drug use, my blood was tested at the hospital. When they found marijuana in my system, I was set up with a social worker, DCF, and the community outpatient program at Lund. I was a community client for eight months before I made the decision to move into Lund’s residential treatment program.
My experience at Lund was unforgettable and life changing.
The year that I was at Lund was a difficult time; however, if it wasn’t for Lund and the people there, I would’ve lost my daughter and I’d probably be dead by now. I learned what real friendship means at Lund and my peers and the Lund staff gave me the strength to make it through current and past challenges.
The thing that I wish people knew about the program is that Lund DOES NOT want your babies. They want you to learn new coping and parenting skills and to succeed at a life worth living. The other thing that I would love to change is the stigma around when residents are called “Lund Girl.” I feel that if you have lived in the residential treatment building, having graduated or not, it takes an immense amount of strength, patience, and vulnerability—it should be worn with pride, not shame.
Going through early recovery and having support from Lund’s residential treatment program was a huge part of my success so far. Plus, I can still access support after six and a half years. I still meet with an outpatient clinician once a week, and I attend the alumni group every week. Before Lund, I had never been warmly welcomed into a community, and I’m so grateful that I have this community now.
