Katerina Bolejack came to HRDC at a time of change in her life and felt like she had nowhere to turn. She had just graduated from treatment at the Rimrock Foundation and started her path to recovery from addiction, which she had struggled with for 15 years.
Like many others, addiction took her down a bad path, to the point that she lost custody of her son and went to federal prison after being federally indicted. In 2022, she started using fentanyl, which had consumed her whole life. She adds that her mother saved her life when Katerina had overdosed, keeping her alive until paramedics got to their home. When CPS got involved and took her newborn daughter, Melah, Katerina realized something needed to change. She wanted something different for both her children and her parents so they could have a mom and daughter again.
When Katerina first entered the Pathways Program, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do but knew she wanted a career. “I wanted to better my life, and I wanted to keep growing instead of staying stuck.” Katerina
loves helping people and worked at High Gate Senior Living, where she loved her residents and helping them in any way she could. It was fulfilling to her knowing they were getting the help they needed since some residents didn’t have family to turn to.
Eventually, Katerina decided to pursue a nursing career and hopes to become a Licensed Practical Nurse or a Registered Nurse. She is now CPR-certified and a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). When she decided to pursue nursing, many people told Katerina that she would never become a nurse due to her background. That said, she is not letting that stop her from pursuing her goals.
Since becoming a client at HRDC, Katerina loves how compassionate staff members are about her journey and says no one has given up on her here. Having people at the agency say how proud they were of her each time she came in made a huge impact because she felt that people here genuinely cared about her and her success. Katerina also says that putting in the hard work while in the program made her feel good about herself. Overall, Katerina feels she got more out of the program than she ever thought she would.
“It takes some time to get everything together, but if you need help, you will do it. And you’ll succeed because everyone here gets to know you, and you get smiles, phone calls, and check-ins.” Katerina’s Case Manager says she loved watching her grow and never gave up on herself. She also adds that many clients often think they face too many barriers to better their lives, but there are so many resources to assist them in furthering their education or any other struggle they may be facing.
As a recovering addict, Katerina says it’s hard to see people she grew up with lose their lives due to substance abuse. She adds that active addiction never gets any better; it only worsens. “I hope everyone gets to find recovery so they get to be with their kids, they get to be a daughter, they get to be a mom because there’s people that love and care about them.” She mentions how many resources are available in the community for those suffering from addiction to help them overcome it.
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