Valda wears thin glasses and an easy smile. Her determined faith and quiet confidence create a glow about her. One would never know that her life has been full of the kinds of hardships that many of us can’t begin to imagine.
One might even say that Valda was destined to face her inner demons at an early age. Here parents were both alcoholics who set no real example at home other than that of abuse, both of the bottle and of their kids. Valda’s older sister wound up in jail, but Valda herself managed to avoid the legal system. In hindsight, she’s not sure that’s a good thing. Perhaps she would have received treatment earlier.
Valda began using drugs and alcohol when she was just 14. Like many, she says she began using in an attempt to fit in, and because it was a lifestyle she saw at home.
“My four kids have grown up in other people’s homes,” she admits, “because I could never stay clean long enough to care for them. I’d get some money, and I’d spend it on drugs instead of my family.”
When she was in her twenties, Valda did try to stop, but she couldn’t. In fact, she has tried to get clean no fewer than a dozen times in her life. Now, in her mid-forties, she finally feels that she has succeeded.
“It was time for me to do this,” she said. “No one is pushing, I’m not in trouble with the law, but I want to be a good mother at last. I want to set an example of strength and faith for my kids to follow.”
After completing successful drug treatment at Kansas City Community Center, Valda moved into Princess House, a KCCC partner, to reconstruct her life. It was there that she met Dr. Sarita Graham, PhD, who started the house. Dr. Graham and her daughter had always talked about creating a place for women to live, a safe haven for them to share in recovery. When her daughter died suddenly, she was determined that part of her would live on through this house.
There is no limit to how long a woman can stay at Princess House. Valda, herself, has graduated from client to counselor and hopes to join the ministry some day.
The entrance of the modest home is decorated with a Victorian doll dress on an antique dress frame.
“The dress is a symbol of purity,” Dr. Graham said. “Every woman who comes here must make her own dress before she leaves to represent a renewed dedication to family, faith and innocence.”
When asked, Valda admits that she hasn’t finished her dress yet. She’s not much of a seamstress. But her faith is strong. Her family is growing stronger with each day she stays clean. And it will be just a matter of time before her dress and her life at Princess House are completed and she can begin anew her life with her family.
