Cynthia M.

Cynthia M. had been in the grip of alcohol and drugs since she was 16. She says she doesn't know why she went down that path. No one else in her family did, but for her things were different. She was in and out of programs over the years, but never stayed sober for long. "I stopped believing I could change my life," she says. "I used to talk about what I was going to do in my next life. Because I was convinced I was going be an addict for the rest of this life." But in 2003, after a second round of legal problems related to her drug use, she says she received a "gift": Proposition 36.

She says she didn't realize at the time what an opportunity she was being given, but, after 7 months in treatment, she began to make changes in her life. Now she is sober, attending college and sees a future without drugs and alcohol. "I used to dream of a life not controlled by my addiction, and it is happening for me now, thanks to so many who care."