Voices of Hope – Taniko H.

I was working as a nurse and addicted to pain meds. I was arrested on August 8, 2018 after taking drugs from the hospital where I worked. I had never been arrested before and found myself in jail for the first time, charged with a felony. I was sentenced to drug rehab surrounded by people I’d never been around. I was out of work and couldn’t get a job because of my pending drug charges. I fell into a really deep depression. I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel and believed I would never have a reason to smile again. On September 23, 2018, I tried to take my life. My teenage daughter found me unresponsive and I was Baker Acted.

After that, I did my best to carry on. I was working odd jobs and getting help from my family. I was going through drug court, working on getting my charges dropped. I saw a possibility to return to nursing, and submitted my case to the Board of Nursing to arrange a settlement. But 8 months into my State charges, my case was changed to Federal. The media picked up the story, and my face was plastered all over the news. I went back down a dark path and stopped seeing the light at the end of tunnel again. I felt like I was starting all over again.

Thankfully, my sister-in-law told me about Operation New Hope. At first, I didn’t want to enroll in the Ready4Work program because I didn’t want to waste my time and get my hopes up. But I realized that I didn’t know everything because if I did, I wouldn’t be where I was then. So I took a leap of faith, and what I found was possibility and hope.

The program was so good and just the help I needed. I was encouraged, supported, and connected with an opportunity at Beaches Recovery. I’ve been at that job ever since, I am no longer struggling, and my daughter is so proud of me. I get to work with people that feel like family and help other women in their recovery journey.

People really do deserve a second chance. I feel so blessed that Operation New Hope took a chance on me, and I am thankful for the Ready4Work program. I don’t know where I would be without it. I am so happy now. I have peace, and you can’t put a price on that.