"For me art was a way to not think; it was a therapy the way yoga or meditation or working out is for other people. Art helped me heal" says Ashley, an alumni and current volunteer at Interim House.
Ashley started drinking when she was twenty and moved on to Percocet and heroin a few years later. She begged her parents to get her help and after her third DUI they finally listened. She was placed in a short-term rehabilitation for thirty days before moving to a long-term program at Interim House where she began to heal. For her, it was the zentangle coloring books and art projects during art therapy that settled her mind and allowed her to breathe. Any free Time Ashley had at Interim House was spent drawing, painting, and making gifts for family and friends. She turned something as simple as art into a way to recover. Once Ashley left Interim House's long term program, she entered its halfway house level of care. During her time in the halfway house program, Ashley participated in the Life Skills and Work Readiness Program and took classes to become a Certified Recovery Specialist. Once she completed halfway house, she applied for and was accepted into a master's degree program in art therapy in which she is currently pursuing.
She still volunteers at Interim House once a week amidst her hectic schedule to lead art projects for program participants. She spends the rest of her time working at Recovery Center of America (RCA) where she hopes to one day be an art therapist, while also balancing the workload of a masters' student. When asked if being busy helps her to stay in recovery, Ashley replies with: "it keeps me accountable. I know that if I were to relapse, I would lose everything within twenty-four hours and I never want to give up anything I'm working on. For the first time in my life I look forward to going to work, I love my job and my life, and I'm excited for the future."
