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Cindy came to Fairbanks with the desire to put her drug-using lifestyle behind her.

Now, she is an active volunteer through Fairbanks’ alumni services.

She helps greet individuals and families as they take their first step in seeking treatment at Fairbanks. She helps ease their anxiety by sharing her story. Cindy describes her life as active and full of opportunities to succeed and assist others. She feels that her future, without drugs and alcohol, has a lot in store for her.

“During my use, I described myself as living on the dark side of the moon, but now I am on a brighter side. On this side I feel like I am supposed to help others who are struggling. So I keep reaching out to them, which also keeps me sober.”
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Mindy, a graduate of Hope Academy, Fairbanks recovery-focused high school, learned an important lesson during her stay — the importance of being honest.

“I learned I had to be honest with myself,” Mindy says. “I had been lying to myself.”

Mindy immediately clicked with the staff, but the expectations were different than what she was used to.

“They weren’t just focused on your grades. They were focused on your sobriety, too.”

Mindy graduated from Hope Academy on May 28th, 2010, and has enrolled at IVY Tech Community College. After she finishes at IVY Tech she wants to earn a degree in mortuary sciences, but is committed to taking life one day at a time.

“I live by that,” she says with a smile.
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Debra, a former patient who now volunteers at Fairbanks, says that the best thing she received from her time in recovery here, was when she left.

“I had to face life on my own, and I learned I wasn’t afraid anymore – I could feel the peace.”

Being at Fairbanks, Debra says, helped her find the woman she’s been hiding all these years. “When I look in the mirror, I can say I actually like this person,” she says. “I had to deal with all my emotions and stuff. Before recovery, my emotions were in a bottle.”

“My biggest thrill is talking with the other women at Fairbanks,” she says. “They think I’m helping them…they’re helping me.”
READ DEBRA'S STORY>>