In high school, Tracy was living a Southern California teenage dream. She grew up in a happy home (in fact, her parents are still married). She was a cheerleader. And, she received a car for her 16th birthday.

Then, at the age of 17, she became pregnant, and her life changed dramatically.

She stayed in the relationship for 19 years, eventually marrying the father of her child (and two others). But the relationship was abusive. And to top it off, her mother-in-law introduced Tracy to methamphetamine – an addiction that made her life spiral out of control.

Over the years, Tracy lost custody of her kids (they were largely raised by her parents) and was in and out of jail seven times. When she left jail for the last time in 2001, she decided she wasn’t going back, and did everything she needed to stay dry (but, as she explains, not sober, as she was not working the AA program). She retained custody of her children and left her husband in 2011. But eventually, she got back into substance abuse and ended up on the streets.

By this time, Tracy’s oldest daughter was also addicted to heroin, and they stayed together on the streets most of the time. Although tempted to try recovery again, Tracy was reluctant to leave her daughter unless she also made a commitment to sobriety. The issue came to a head in 2019, when her daughter was the victim of a hit and run accident.

Her daughter sustained severe injuries and was in a coma for 10 days. Tracy was by her side whenever she could be, and was there when her daughter finally woke up. Her daughter went through physical rehab, then participated in Orange County Rescue Mission’s program, maintaining her sobriety to this day. Tracy’s subsequent path was a bit more complicated, with multiple sobriety attempts failing. It wasn’t until she attended an AA meeting on September 25, 2021 – a meeting that changed her life – that she made a true commitment to sobriety.

Just 19 days later, Tracy moved into an Action Alliance home and was recruited as a house manager in summer, 2022. Outside of Action Alliance, she works as a debt collector for Cambridge after working at Fidelity for several years.

Today, Tracy’s relationship with her parents is solid once again, and she is in touch with all three of her children. “Action Alliance saved my life!” notes Tracy. “Action Alliance trusts me and holds me accountable.”