A Resident's Story
Valerie
"Thanks to Wilson Commencement Park, one of many things I learned is to pay my bills . . . on time. However, if I had to pay back what I owe Wilson, I never could - I owe way too much!"
One day in 1991, I was on a bus heading toward my outpatient drug treatment program. I had just moved to Rochester, was living with friends, and was trying to kick a very bad habit and to make up for the price my kids had paid for my addiction. I rode past what was the new Wilson Commencement Park - the townhouses and Early Learning Center were still being built. Still in treatment but highly motivated, I persuaded Jean Howard to let me move into the Park.
Kenneth, Candice, and I were one of the first families at Wilson. Candice received so much help from the Early Learning Center - special ed., speech therapy, and more. Tears still come to my eyes when I think of the price my daughter paid for my mistakes - I was using drugs when I was pregnant and she was born premature, barely more than a pound in weight. Today, at 14, she is, I am proud to say, a mainstream student at Wilson Magnet School, and my son, Kenneth, is an honor roll scholarship student at McQuaid. Wilson saved their lives as well as mine.
So here I am, more than 12 years later. I am self-reliant, drug free, employed at a good job, an active member of my church, enjoying my children, who are doing well, and—another dream come true— even a homeowner! I am blessed.”
Update: Valerie’s son is a senior at RIT and he is going to
The top picture portraits Valerie after her tremendous weight loss. Congratulations!
