Methamphetamine use is increasing in South Dakota, especially in high school age students. In fact, state figures show nine percent of 10th grade girls have tried meth.
A Chamberlain woman who battled the addiction for almost a decade is now working to help others break the cycle of addiction.
"I started drinking at 14 and using drugs at 15," says Jaime Anderson.
Now at 28, drug and alcohol abuse is just a distant memory for Anderson. After a 10-year struggle with addiction—Anderson is now showing people what made her turn it all around.
"When I had nowhere else to turn, Volunteers of America was there for me. They gave me the skills to turn my life around," says Anderson.
A television ad ran a year ago. Today Anderson is still sober, as she has been now for 3 years and one month. With the help of the "Volunteers of America New Start Program," her new path is much more suited for her three children, who at one point were taken from her.
Anderson says, "I have things today that I never though I'd imagine I'd ever have and thought what I had before was in the cards for me, and that's as good as it got."
After 2,000 hours, a handful of courses and tough exams, Anderson will soon be trained as a chemical dependency counselor so she can help others overcome their additions.
"Like all the things I put myself through, I learned from it. Now I can use what I learned to help other people," says Anderson.
And she is hoping those she helps will also realize life can get better.
"There is a way out. It's not easy but there is a way," says Anderson.
Courtney Zieller
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