We see stories about drug addiction all the time – from heroin overdoses to the opioid epidemic. One woman is sharing her story about battling drugs and addiction and how she overcame those challenges. Recovery is possible.

As a child, Erica Swan says she was abused, abandoned, and rejected by many.

She turned to drugs to numb the pain and as she got older, her addiction got worse.

“It started with drinking and smoking marijuana and then just kind of escalated from there, experimenting with cocaine and doing things like acid in ecstasy,” explained Swan, a recovering addict.

Erica got married at 20 and gave birth to her son in a rehab facility.

She says she got off drugs and became clean and sober for six years, but then relapsed.

She went through a divorce; her husband re-married and got custody of their kids.

“I had to watch another woman have my children, my husband and my family, and it was very difficult.”

Swan lost everything important to her along with any self-worth, until someone suggested she look into Teen Challenge – a christian recovery center.

“We really feel that we can do that by finding the heart issues of everyone and they’re the same universally; they need hope that recovery is possible,” said Teen Challenge Executive Director Charity Bray, who says they try to find the source of the emotional pain that causes the addiction.

“There was still this struggle inside of me with actual committing, and maybe even believing that I could walk in recovery,” Swan said.

But Swan did commit and complete the one-year program.

She’s two and half years clean and is now a staff member with Teen Challenge, helping others.

“Recovery is possible, freedom is possible if you’re just willing to give it a chance and an opportunity it’s possible.”