Dear Friend,

My name is Brittnay, and for a long time, my life felt like a door I couldn’t keep from closing.

I’m a mom of two, and I wish I could tell you I started out strong. I didn’t. After my son was born, I fell into addiction almost overnight. Pills turned into meth, and meth turned into losing myself and nearly losing everything else. I gave my mom guardianship of my kids because I wasn’t the mother they deserved. And the truth is, I didn’t know how to be. I grew up bouncing between homes, surrounded by addiction and instability. Survival was familiar. Loving myself wasn’t.

My life became a cycle I couldn’t seem to break: jail, probation, relapse, repeat. Every time I got out, I told myself I would do better. And every time, I fell right back into the life I swore I was done with.

The day I was sentenced to prison, I heard my parents gasp behind me. That sound still lives in me. It was the first time I realized my brokenness wasn’t just mine. It echoed through everyone who loved me.

Inside prison, the cycle continued at first. Trouble was easy. Change was not. But about two years in, I got tired of losing. I started programs, earned time cuts, and fought for better. Then I found PATHS.

PATHS gave me skills, but more than that, it gave me myself. It showed me who I could be if I chose differently.

Today, I’m finishing the program and preparing for release. For the first time in my life, I’m choosing stability, sobriety, and a future that doesn’t look like my past. I’m signing up for transitional housing instead of going back to the environment that broke me. I talk to my kids as often as I can, not with excuses but with intention. My mom is sober now, too, and we’re rebuilding something healthier than anything we’ve ever had.

I don’t pretend everything is perfect. My daughter is autistic, my son has anger and ADHD, and reconnecting takes patience and grace. But PATHS taught me that real love isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing up, even when you’re scared you won’t be enough.

For the first time, I believe I won’t come back here. That’s the power of this program. That’s what your support makes possible.

Programs like PATHS save lives that don’t look “savable.” They break cycles that have lasted generations. They help mothers like me become the women our children need. Thank you for believing in us — especially on the days we struggle to believe in ourselves.

Right now, PATHS in Indiana and Arizona could lose funding. If my story touched you, please help protect this program for the women still inside. They deserve their chance too.

 DONATE NOW TO HELP US ROTECT HER SECOND CHANCE.

 P.S. As a small thank-you, every $25 you donate (or monthly gift) enters you in a drawing for a 7-night stay for four at the Mayan Palace in your choice of Riviera Maya, Nuevo Vallarta, or Puerto Peñasco.

With gratitude,

Brittnay

PATHS Participant, Rockville Correctional Facility