Hello Community, what I am about to do is the hardest step I have ever taken in my life. I will be revealing a part of me that is very, very personal & sensitive that I have kept hidden from just about everyone. So, I pray, take a deep breath and begin:

I’ve struggled with addiction for a better part of my life and in the last couple years I have relapsed on Opiates. I recently admitted myself to a 30-day alcohol & drug rehab & I am still currently here, which is located in San Francisco.

I initially didn’t want to come into this program, confront my past demons & look at my character defects because it was too painful & eye opening & it takes A LOT of work in trying to get one’s self better. Using drugs allowed me not to face these issues within myself & allowed me to be numb to it all. Addiction is a sickness, a disease. I myself didn’t believe it was a disease at first. I always felt like it was a moral choice to use drugs from weak minded people such as myself. Overtime though, and really giving this program a 120%, my belief & understanding has changed. It is a disease and a sickness medically proven. I have also come to realize that after 30 days in treatment and about to graduate, that 30 days is NOT enough time for me. I need more time & I actually now WANT to be here. I am just beginning to understand myself by “digging in deep” & confronting myself. I want to get better, I want to LIVE. I no longer hate myself.

There is a continuation of this program. It’s called The Women’s Residential Program. It’s a minimum of a 3-month commitment. I would work my current job during the day and come back to the program after work, have morning and evening meals, participate in all the night groups, as well as sleeping here & on my days off would program all day at the facility entirely.

The obstacle in my way is that my insurance will cover the PART of the intensive treatment for the Women’s Residential program, but that’s where it would stop. The fees to be able to eat meals here, do the evening groups, all day weekend programming and to reside here in the evening would be $1500 a month. I am trying to raise at least $5000 which would cover the 3 month minimum and a $500 co-pay. If by some miracle I was able to raise more, I would put that towards additional months here. Anything donated would be 100% given to the program towards MY recovery. Time is of the essence as I am due to graduate from the 30-day program successfully & will have to immediately integrate into the Women’s recovery program, so I have about a week left to gather any financial assistance.

If you have ANY concern about your donation being applied to this program (which I completely understand) Please reach out to me either by email @ [email redacted] or my cell #650.834.1828. I will be MORE than happy to show you a receipt from this programs or something of your suggestion & we can figure that out.

Exposing myself to you all comes with shame, embarrassment & plenty of anxiety. Some will judge me when they read this & think less of me. I can understand & will accept that, but I also feel pride because I won’t let that stop me from fighting for my sobriety & my recovery. This is how serious I am that I am willing to put it all out there. PLEASE be a part of my recovery. You will not regret supporting me on this next step of my sobriety journey.

I understand that everybody who reads this will know about this private part of my life, so I am asking that it not be shared publicly if you think you know someone who might want to help. I ask that you share it privately. I can’t afford for it to affect my professional life. Thank you so, so much to all that took the time to read this & can understand just why I am doing this, it means the world to me!

Sincerely,

Michelle. Dupas