The Messenger - November 2023

“My dad was in and out of prison. My mom was often drinking and partying,” Victoria shares. From the loneliness from absent parents to horrific abuse when she was fourteen, the trauma Victoria carried ran deep. Since drinking and using drugs numbed the pain she felt inside, Victoria admits, “I loved to indulge, so I didn’t have to feel what was happening.” Sadly, the vicious cycle of addiction took Victoria to dark places.