Pat Tia, HopeWorks graduate

“Before I came to HopeWorks, I thought I would die on the streets. I didn’t think I could escape it.”

Pat Tia came to HopeWorks in 2009, having lived a life controlled by her addictions to drugs and alcohol. She was also a prostitute on the streets and served prison time for possession of drugs and paraphernalia. But despite her dangerous lifestyle, Pat wasn’t ready to change.

“My first husband was wealthy…I gave up everything to be a crackhead,” Pat said. “I couldn’t even stop getting high for my daughters.”

For decades, Pat’s street life was easy and attractive to her. She wasn’t hurt or abused by the men who picked her up. But one particular day in April 2009 got her attention.

“A month before I started at HopeWorks, I got attacked and stabbed. If it had been dark, he would have killed me,” Pat said. “I was suddenly scared of what I was doing. God never allowed anything to happen to me all that time, until then.”

But Pat had tried rehab before, and even successful visits didn’t seem to work. Each time, she thought she might hear something different and be changed, but nothing happened. According to Pat, she hadn’t decided for herself.

“All of my rehabs in the past – I knew I needed it, but I wasn’t ready to stop yet,” Pat said. “I went to rehab because somebody told me I needed to.”

Thirty years and nine rehabilitation centers later, Pat was finally ready for change. During her time on the streets, she attended All Saints Presbyterian Church and developed a strong relationship with her church family.

“I went to church every Sunday and never hid who I was,” Pat said. “When I missed a service or two, people would look for me on the dope streets to make sure I was OK.”

And it was a church friend who pointed Pat to HopeWorks. One of the members saw WMC-TV 5’s “Taking Back the Neighborhoods” segment on HopeWorks with anchor Joe Birch in March 2009 and told Pat about the program. They knew Pat had to make her own decision, and she agreed to an interview for the Personal and Career Development class at HopeWorks. Pat stopped getting high three weeks prior and was only sober a few days before her first interview at the not-for-profit.

“When I walked through the door for the first time, I felt safe. I was so ready for something different at this point in my life,” Pat said. “After my first interview, before they even offered me a second meeting, they told me I could come there anytime.”

Pat was accepted into HopeWorks’ PCD class in May 2009 and was instructed to attend additional meetings to keep her addictions in check. She had determined that she was going to give it her best and be clean, professional and responsible – all the things she had never been before. While at HopeWorks, Pat had perfect attendance at the PCD class and her internship. She latched on to the counseling part of the program and made it her goal to get everything out of the program as possible.

“They require five sessions in the PCD class, but I must have had at least seven,” Pat said. “I was as selfish with HopeWorks as I had been finding my dope on the street. I wanted to change.”

It was the holistic approach of the program that Pat identified as being most helpful during her time at HopeWorks. She learned guilt by association and the importance of surrounding yourself with good people. And Pat found herself applying what she learned in class in her daily life.

“When I got to HopeWorks, I felt empowered and better about myself. I was able to address my weaknesses and turn them into learning experiences,” Pat said. “It’s not something you can just put on the shelf and forget about.”

But learning new life skills didn’t mean Pat was immune to her past. Six weeks after she arrived at HopeWorks, she felt the temptation to slip back into her old ways.

“I wanted to get high again, but I didn’t because I was able to talk to somebody about it. They encouraged me, showed me how far I had come and helped me through it,” Pat said. “They didn’t make me feel ashamed about wanting to get high. You are as sick as your secrets, and I didn’t have any here.”

Pat knew this life transformation wasn’t possible without God. And looking back, she saw Him throughout the entire process.

“If it hadn’t been for God, it wouldn’t have worked. I felt Him through the unconditional love and caring of everyone at HopeWorks and my church,” Pat said. “They really cared whether or not I made it through the class and succeeded or not.”

On August 13, 2009, Pat Tia and 13 other students graduated as the 62nd graduating class at HopeWorks. She filed for financial aid at Southwest Tennessee Community College and was accepted within weeks. After taking classes and interning at The MED, Pat decided to pursue her chemical dependency certification and work toward becoming an alcohol and substance abuse counselor. She says she wants to help someone like herself.

“God is restoring my past. I hadn’t seen my mother or my children in five to six years before HopeWorks, and now I get visits and phone calls and e-mails. And I even have my own apartment!” Pat said. “But that’s God. He’s rebuilding my life, and I’ve got hope now. I’ve got hope.”

Pat was married at HopeWorks two months after her graduation, surrounded by her mother, her church family and the staff at HopeWorks. Ron Wade, executive director of HopeWorks, performed the ceremony.