Manchester woman shares journey of addiction and recovery, as program that helped her expands

Volunteers of America Freedom House program will expand in three locations, Owensboro, Standford and Northern Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) — Freedom House an addiction recovery program by Volunteers of America is expanding into central Kentucky.

On Friday, VOA alongside Humana and various state leaders, announced the expansion of the program.
The Freedom House program offers a comprehensive approach to treatment, providing connections, resources and education.

For one woman, being able to become a part of the program was a way to give back to the people who gave her so much during a time of need.

“I didn’t want to feel it, didn’t know how to process that tragic, you know, and it was traumatizing. And and I didn’t realize it was traumatizing, and had done something to me until later on,” said Destinie Robinson, who went through the program and is now a VOA Alumni Coordinator.

She recalled what led her to become an addict, saying after the death of her father and her baby brother she felt lost and confused, wanting to numb the pain.

“She recently graduated from Freedom House, she’s back in college, she’s in stable housing, and we hired her to be part of a new research study that we are calling Project Strong,” said Jennifer Hancock, the president and CEO of VOA Mid-States when talking about choosing Destinie.

In her journey of recovery, Robinson says at times she did not want to accept help because she was afraid of social workers.
Eventually, Robinson was introduced to the Freedom House program by Volunteers of America where she was able to also bring her son.

“I got there and went through the program, I knew that I wanted, I wanted a better life, and I want to do something different, because I always was just in addiction before and like, so after I got clean, and I was there, and I was actually living it, and it proved to myself that I could live without drugs,” added Robinson.

She says after understanding she could change her life, she wanted to be the person others could relate to.

“I’ve changed my whole life, and for it be possible for me, I want everybody know that is out there that is struggling and thinking that they can’t do it, they can,” she also says.

Now Volunteers of America is expanding its Freedom House Program to three new locations: Owensboro, Stanford and Northern Kentucky.

“Volunteers of America’s Freedom House program is open 24 hours a day. And we want individuals and families affected by substance use disorder to know that they can call on us and we will be there to serve them,” said Hancock.

For more information on Volunteers of America, click here.