It's Okay To Not Be Okay

I used to wonder what the point was. 

Last year, I was in debt, homeless, alone, without my kids, and completely lost. The struggle was constant, and when you’re in it, you just can’t see a way out. I was on probation, and eventually, I fell into addiction. I’d hit rock bottom.

Sometimes things get too far gone. You know you need help, but everything feels so complicated, and you can’t even access the basics.

Someone told me about DCM and said they might be able to do something for me. I came in and they helped me sort out a benefit and check in with probation. Now I’m about to head to rehab and DCM are working on finding me a permanent home.

"DCM helped me get my confidence back. They’ve reminded me that there’s still humanity in the world."

I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. And nine years ago, my long-term partner passed away while the kids were still young. I went from having a family to having no one. I coped for a while. But eventually, it caught up with me.

If I hadn’t come to DCM, I honestly don’t know what would’ve happened. I was spiralling, and nothing seemed to matter anymore.

I heard about the women’s group at DCM, and I thought, 'Well, I need something'. I love working with other women who’ve been on a similar path to mine. There’s no pressure. It’s relaxed. But your inner confidence starts to grow.

"You look at the other women and think, 'If you can do it, I can do it'."

As women, we soldier on. We might cry when no one’s looking, then wake up and carry on like nothing happened. We hold onto things, you know? The biggest thing I’ve learned in the group is that it’s okay to not be okay.

I used to feel like I didn’t belong anywhere. That feeling pushed me to do a lot of dumb stuff. But now I see the women in our group and I get it. So many of them were just trying to escape from their life, from abuse, from pain. When a woman loses her confidence, when she can’t provide, when it feels like things are never going to get better, something in her mind just gives up. That’s why we need each other.

We’re missing that social network, I think. And that’s what pushes people on a downward slope.

Before I came to DCM, I was lost. But now I am thinking about my future. I want to support other women who are going through what I’ve been through. You don’t have to go back to what wasn’t working. That’s what I’m learning.

And as long as the sun comes up tomorrow, I know we can survive.