Testimonies

Testimony From A Social Worker:

My name is Felicia and I met Melissa while working for a mental health agency here on the shore. Upon getting Melissa on my caseload I knew I was faced with a challenging case. I knew she had a history of mental health and substance abuse but according to her she did not struggle with addiction any longer. Melissa always cared for her children the best way she could. As time went on I began to notice a change, she wasn’t keeping herself up, no longer cooking, bills not getting paid, her house was a complete disaster, she wasn’t being truthful and her behaviors proved to be risky and dangerous. There where times there was no food in the home, I remember once she caught her kitchen stove on fire from being under the influence and passing out. I never knew what kind of call I would get from her oldest daughter Lydia who at one point I allowed to come stay with me. Melissa would go days without sleeping, would be seen walking the streets staggering. Seeing this, seeing the hurt in her children really broke me. It made me realize addiction is a far more than someone waking up and choosing alcohol or drugs. It takes over you, it’s an illness and the only way out is through help and admitting you have a problem. Several times Melissa was sent to a rehab facility but it never worked out, she would come back and within a week she was back to old habits. Towards the end things got really bad, I was faced with challenging decisions on to report to social services, not get her any more financial help to get or keep her lights on, not help her pay her rent as her kids were still there and needed a place to stay. I knew the only true way to help her was to allow her to hit rock bottom. I worried about disclosing to social services as I had a great relationship with Melissa and her children, I worried where would her kids go. But I knew she needed help, and regardless of what I could lose (the trust of the family, the relationships I had built with them) that Melissa losing her life and her children was far greater!! Best decision I ever made! Melissa was then given the choice of rehab as she was risking losing her children which she would NEVER want! When Melissa started Regenesis, I knew after a month this program was different. She wasn’t able to just come home, she had responsibilities, she was getting a closer relationship with God, she was surrounded by great people. Melissa had always had faith, and always talked about God, yet you could tell she was struggling and needed a change in her environment. That all changed!!! Melissa is a completely different person. She is finally going after goals she often talked about, She has her own place, she’s stable, she’s happy, she’s getting back in school, holding a job and just being healthy!! I highly, highly recommend this place!! Definitely saved Melissa!!! If you know someone struggling there is help! CALL TODAY!!! 804-451-4481

I was born to a mother who was an alcoholic and addict, she left when I was around 3, my dad raised me and he tried and did the best he could but he was an alcoholic and worked at night so I was left alone to my own devices, and so my house became the party house. I started using at thirteen and I tried anything I could get my hands on from marijuana, LSD, alcohol, pills, powder crank and cocaine, etc until I was about 18 and discovered crack cocaine after that no other drug was good enough, then soon after crack I started to do heroin and the two drugs together became not enough so I started shooting them…. For the next 30 years hard drugs took me to places I would have never thought possible I lied ,cheated, and stole, to feed my habit. I went to a place so dark that I dragged my children through it with me, as they witnessed me one night being shot through the chest by a dealer with a 22calibur hand gun, whom I was trying to rob. But that wasn’t enough to make me stop. I ended up prostituting for about 15 years and in that time I was beaten, raped and had another attempt taken on my life by strangulation. I hurt myself and everyone that came in my path. Including my youngest son who was born two and a half months early addicted to heroin and crack. I had gotten to a point where I just accepted I was going to be a drug addict forever and that this was just going to be my life. I was completely unlovable, nor did I know how to love, and I was just basically waiting to die. I found myself in a jail cell crying out to God (whom I had never known before and just looked at as if he were Santa) “God, if you’re real please save me” He heard me and a week later I got a visit from a pastor who told me about God and I accepted Jesus and was saved right there through the glass of the visitors window at Riverside. From there I went through a faith-based recovery program but I just wasn’t ready, so after a couple years I ended up relapsing right in the place where I had learned about God. I went back out on the street for another number of years until I found myself with multiple hospital stays because of blood infections due to using dirty and overused needles. I almost died more than once with heart infections and abscesses on my spine. After 2 years of spending 3/4’s of that time in and out of a hospital I finally came to the realization that I was going to die soon. I had heard about Regenesis from my caseworker in detox so I called. I had no money and only the clothes on my back and they accepted me just as I was. During my time in the women’s home I not only learned about God, but I learned how to have a relationship with God how to put him first how to think of him when making decisions and started to want to make Him proud. I also learned how to listen to the Holy Spirit and know that it was God speaking to me. I realized that God had been with me all along through the times I should have died and didn’t. The pastors and overseers at Regenesis helped me see that I’m still here because I have a calling on my life, much more than the drug addict I had accepted being. I have a calling to help people in my same situation, come out from under the hand of the enemy and to show them that God has something so much better for them. In the four years I’ve been at Regenesis, I have restored the relationship with both of my oldest children and I have a relationship with my 14-year-old son. Also I’m in a relationship with an amazing Godly man . I got my license back after 10 years, I own a car, and I opened a bank account. I live in a beautiful ministry apartment and I’m on staff at Regenesis as a Thrift Store Manager. I am a leader here and I have been taught by my mentors what it means to be a Godly woman. Regenesis has made it possible for me to work and live in a place that keeps me accountable and at the same time I get to pour into men and women struggling with addiction and coming into the program behind me. Watching other addicts being transformed from death to life the way I was transformed, is the biggest blessing in my life. I have been changed in the four years I’ve been at Regenesis and I can never ever imagine a life without God in the center of it, or without my Regenesis family. So if you’re reading this and you’re struggling, hurting, sick and stuck in a place of accepting that there’s nothing better for you, I am walking, talking, living, breathing, proof that God can change your life, just like He has mine, this is my story of Grace and if He can change me, He can change anyone. So please call Regenesis it can help change your life! -KS 🌱 CALL TODAY!!!!! 804-451-4481

I should start by saying I’ve pretty much been an addict since the first drug I did in 1983-1984, I wasn’t full-blown then but over the years it just escalated from there. Always one drug or another you name it I’ve done it or been addicted to it. Well the last 15 years I was a straight shooting up heroin, junkie. I was so lost in addiction. I mean everyday, I wanted to but I couldn’t stop. I just gave up on quitting. I mean I never thought I would be able to. I would overdose on purpose in hopes I wouldn’t be revived, I didn’t care anymore. Then one day I had a choice to go back home, which would lead to bad things, or come to Regenesis. I made the right choice with help from the Lord. I had pushed him away for a long time and He said no, not this time. From the bottom of my heart I want to thank everyone at Regenesis, especially Pastor Gary and Tracey for all that they do for us. I want to thank them for two major reasons, first for bringing the Lord Jesus and Holy Spirit back into my life which is exactly what I needed and the second one for helping me keep a promise I made 7 years ago. My mama was dying of cancer one of the last things she said to me was, she made me look into her eyes and she said, “Michael I want you to promise me you will stop doing drugs” I said yes. It took 7 years but because of Pastor Gary, Tracey and everyone here at Regenesis I was finally able to keep that promise. “I finally did it Mama, Ifinally did it” I know you are proud of me and I’ll see you again in Heaven.” I will not be forever grateful, but I am eternally grateful for Regenesis. You are my family now and I love you all !! 🌱- ME If you’re lost, stuck in a life of addiction, tired of running, and ready to change your life, CALL US!! we have a place of refuge for you to run towards!! 804-451-4481 www.regenesislife.org

Five years ago I came to Regenesis seeking refuge for a family of five, fresh in my recovery process and a baby in Christ. I knew I had a calling from the Lord to mentor women who where just like me, broken , hopeless, dead , stuck in addiction choosing herion over their own children trying to fill a void because the void needed to be filled with Jesus. Like me, women who maybe knew of Christ like myself but never had a personal relationship with …. women who needed a Savior just like I needed a Savior …. women who cry out in the moment of desperation, in the moment where their lives where about to end were willing to say help me, I can’t do this anymore, I will die if you don’t help me. That was me and so many others. Regenesis allowed me to not just live and work but actually learn, become a leader, walk hand and hand mentoring me in all areas of life, spiritual and everyday life skills. They have the love of Jesus as well as a covering, but they have real life processes they have walked through themselves, learned, been taught and continue to pour them out into their team on a daily basis! My life is changed because of Jesus, my life is changed because of the willingness that my leadership here at Regenesis is investing in each individual. We are now a family of six because God has seen fit to add a nephew to our family, we are honored and forever grateful for Regenesis who has never turned away our hearts . So if you are in relationship with your addiction like I was, Regenesis is here for you, I’m here for you . I will pour my heart out, walk through it with you just as my leaders have me. Jesus sat with the sinners, let me sit with you today . If your willing and ready, Regenesis is the place to be. Growth happens in this place. What I imagined was a house manager, but what God imagined was way more, without my leaders I would not be where I am today . Five short years later I am now the Program Director as well as the Womens House Manager and a ordained Pastor. Philippians 1:6 I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. -April Parrish Regenesis Program Director Women’s Home Director If your struggling, There IS hope!!! CALL TODAY ! 804-451-4481
https://www.facebook.com/regenesislife

“A Parent’s Perspective”

Addiction is a terrible disease. It destroys lives. It kills the individual and causes misery to those who love the addict. Not only does the individual lose the quality of his/her life, but family and friends lose the qualify of their lives as well. No one is immune from the addiction trap. The addiction demon wants only one thing, to kill and destroy the lives of as many as can be taken. After a terrible car accident, I witnessed my son go from a loving, carefree, intelligent, and capable adult to the deepest depths of addiction. It started with the opioid drugs prescribed to him by uncaring doctors filling a quota, to buying the medicating off the black market, to trying heroin and the trap was sprung. To the deepest depths of human suffering. All the while family and loved ones unknowingly enabled his addiction by trying to help. By giving him money. By buying things and doing things he should have been doing for himself. This is the great lie we tell ourselves when faced with losing a loved one to addiction. That somehow, they will snap out of it and recover on their own. I have come to realize a horrible truth. There are only two ways out of addiction. Death or recovery. It’s a hard truth to come too. Drug and alcohol addiction are killers and unless a person gets the help and treatment needed, death is the only outcome. I witnessed my son recover, and relapse more times than I can count. Every program he submitted himself too was state sponsored and didn’t really address the root cause of his suffering. On his last relapse, he overdosed and died. Literally. The emergency crew gave him CPR and Narcan hoping to revive him to no avail. Only after using several Narcan doses and a heart defibrillator, were they able to get his heart beating again. Back into another 30-day state sponsored recovery program. All the old methods used that had failed him in the past. After the money ran out, they pronounced him recovered and sent him back on his way to fend for himself. As time moved on, he did all the tasks taught to him but suddenly unable to cope with the stresses of life, along with a stack of court hearings and facing jail he came close to relapsing again and knew this time would be his last relapse and death awaited him. He reached out for help. We reached out for help to get him into another program but wanted something different this time. He found a program in VA and was dropped off there to start his recovery program. The members of that program decided he wasn’t a good fit for their program since he failed to complete the full program in the past. All seemed lost. But the program coordinator reached out to Regenesis and they accepted my son into the program without hesitation. This program has proven itself to be a Godsend and has changed my son’s life. The leaders of this program are God centered and work with the individual and don’t treat them as a statistic. They genuinely care for the individual and guide them out of the darkness and into the light. From detoxing to learning new life skills to help them cope with the extra challenges a life of recovery. From living a miserable existence to fulfilling all the promises of a life well lived. Regenesis builds and restores people to where God intended for them to be. It is a lifelong road to recovery. Over the past year, my son has gone from the bottom of the pit to standing on his own and becoming more self-sufficient in his life. His faith has become stronger and lessons taught in the program has given him a clear perspective. He is being restored in every area of his life, from reconciling his criminal background, to a good paying job, to finding a place to live and his own transportation. He is restoring relationships long broken and becoming the man he was meant to be. I can’t thank the staff at Regenesis for their unconditional love and patience leading my son to a better life. Life has no guarantees, but this time, I believe the odds are in his favor and to God be all the glory. If you, or a loved one, are trapped in drug or alcohol addiction and can’t find your way out, Contact Regenesis! They can help, but you need to take that first step to a life of recovery. 🌱 JW www.regenesislife.org

If you know someone struggling, let them know there is help!! CALL TODAY!! 804-451-4481

Hi! My name is Megan. I grew up in a good, loving household and always thought life would be golden. Little did I know, at 16, my life would spiral out of control. I started using Xanax and weed to “numb the pain” I was feeling. By 19, I was completely addicted to pills and started to get arrested very frequently. I was in and out of the system constantly. I started going through a lot more struggles and eventually quit the pills and started using heroin, i thought all my troubles were over because I found something that made me feel nothing. I started out just snorting it but then I quickly “moved up” to IV usage. I was becoming a frequent flyer at many hospitals due to overdosing almost all the time. I began to get multiple different criminal charges -theft, possessions, violence.. all due to my drug addiction. I’ve spent a lot of my past birthdays and many years behind bars. I went to rehab after rehab but nothing was helping, I simply did not want to stop using, I didnt want to feel anything at all, I didn’t even want to be alive. I did not care about anything, not family not friends, not even myself. In the midst of all this, I was stealing from my family and friends. I broke everyones trust who was around me and burned every bridge. As long as I got my next high, I didn’t care who I had to hurt in the process. I was the most selfish person I knew and still expected everyone to do everything for me. I eventually went on the run to Florida to go to rehab. I was wanted in Virginia for 7 felonies. After 71 days in rehab, I was arrested in Florida in a stolen car. I was taken to jail and then extradited back to Virginia…and then, while in jail, I found out I was pregnant..I didn’t know what to do. I was in jail about 5 months, when my lawyer suggested that I go to Regenesis. He set it up for me and I was finally released 2 months later to Regenesis… And I was 8 months pregnant. They welcomed me with open arms, showed me unconditional love and even threw me an AMAZING baby shower! 2 weeks after I arrived, I have birth to my son, Greysen. My life was changed and I knew I wanted better, not only for me, but for my newborn baby. Regenesis showed me a new way of life and taught me that God was always there for me, I just wasn’t listening. Although I didn’t graduate due to my own decisions, I’m still thankful for Regenesis and everyone there, every day. This is somewhere they truly do care and truly want the best for you. They are amazing and they really showed me the Love of Jesus. They opened my eyes to the many blessing I already had and the ones I was about to recieve. I’m so thankful for Regenesis and my life will never be the same because of them. They are a blessing in my life and they can be one in yours too! 🌱 -Megan

I came to Regenesis March 2019. When I got here, I was broken. My marriage had been destroyed. I lost my home and as a result, I lost my children. I was consumed with guilt and shame. I had no self-esteem and I was plagued with depression and suicidal thoughts. I was addicted to drugs and alcohol. I turned my back on God and started praying to the devil because I could not see that it was my choices and not God that was causing the problems in my life. One night I cried out to God for help. The next day, my sister said she heard about a program but I needed to hurry up and call because their spots were filling up. I called and was told to come on. (When I got here, I got the last bed.)

I was very unsure and apprehensive about what the next nine months of my life were going to be like. There were several days that I wanted to quit; but persevering was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. At Regenesis, I restored my relationship with God. Pastor Gary and my other leaders have taught and shown me that our relationship with God goes much farther than simply “being saved.” I found my true identity and as a result, I’ve gained a healthy self-esteem and I hold my head high because shame and guilt no longer define me. I no longer suffer from depression after 30 years of torment.

My leaders have also helped me discover my talents and how to handle difficult situations. I went through a divorce and my brother died unexpectedly. Before, I would have gotten high and drunk to deal with those situations but instead, I turned to God and leaned on my leaders and friends to get me through because here, I found out what REAL, unconditional love is.

Regenesis helped me get my drivers license back after 11 years. I started working here and found out my passions (which is cooking and serving others) and they’ve allowed me to do that with full support. I bought a car MYSELF for the first time ever. All my other cars had been given to me or my ex-husband bought them. I started back to college after 20 years. I had to have two surgeries on my foot while I was here which prevented me from doing my regular job, so they found something for me to do so that I could continue to get paid. The first 30 days as a student, you are on “blackout” which means no contact with family. Easter was less than two weeks after I got here. We were doing something in the park for the town of Petersburg. They told me to call my children and tell them to come. I was able to spend the day with them. They made it possible for me to go to my son and one of my daughter’s high school graduations. I was also able to go to one of my son’s college football games. I have my own apartment and my children come to stay the weekend or the week. So my relationship with my children has been restored. They are very adamant about having a relationship with your family, especially your children. I also found the love of my life which I will be marrying in September. Although I wanted to run away as fast as I could sometimes because learning to be responsible, getting corrected in love, completely learning how to live a healthy, rewarding life and going from stinking thinking to right thinking is very hard – staying here is without a doubt the best decision of my life. -ML

If you know someone struggling with addiction let them know there is hope and healing!!! CALL TODAY 804-451-4481!! 🌱

My name is Rashad. I was born Brockton, MA. I grew up in Boston, MA in the hood, fighting all the time and getting into trouble. I Became a “product of my environment” and was somewhat of a troubled child growing up who was peer pressured and easily influenced. Grew up without a father for 20+yrs ( but who is definitely active and here in my life now) and was physically abused by him when he was there for a short period of time. Grew up with a God-fearing single mother. I started smoking marijuana at the age of 12. Alcohol at the age of 14. Tried and experimented with ecstasy and cocaine in High School. Went to juvenile jail for shooting a kid with a BB gun. At the age of 19 I tried crack cocaine for the first time and unfortunately fell in love with it. That was the the start to a downward spiral 10-15 year addiction off/on. It became my drug of choice. Went to Teen Challenge (faith based program) in 2007-2009 and graduated after 16 months, which CHANGED my life. Caught an Armed Robbery/Aggravated Assault charge in 2011 because of my addiction, by putting a knife to a cab driver’s throat. Would have NEVER done anything like that with a sober mind. Had cloudy judgement and was controlled by the devil. Got out of prison in 2015. Fast forward…ended up stranded in Richmond, VA omw to Washington DC to stay with my aunt who denied me because of my legal problems and addiction issues.Was hanging out at Jackson Ward Projects and still using drugs. Then I got tired of being a homeless, hopeless, drug addict and wanted help/NEEDED HELP!!! Came across REGENESIS in a behavior health hospital and they accepted me with open arms! I remember being so desperate for help that I found a ride to the thrift store on Jefferson Davis HWY and slept outside of the building overnight untill someone showed up in the morning. God used REGENESIS to CHANGE my life forever! This is a REAL ministry with people with passionate hearts! The biblical knowledge I learned there from Pastor Gary, Ms.Tracey and Brother Jordan was/is so authentic, genuine, and sincere… straight from the heart. The work therapy will either make you or break you, but it keeps you busy and improves your work ethic. Had all my NEEDS met there. The bible studies, Spirit Life Worship Center, and the Evangelism is on a another level! Be ready to step outside of your comfort zone and level up spiritually! Like NO other faith based place I’ve ever been to. Brother Jordan changed my life through discipline and correction and helped change my way of thinking. Even though I didn’t enjoy it or see it at the time, I look back on it and I really appreciate him for that. I did about 6 months there and even though I did not graduate(because of my personal choices/decisions), the spiritual knowledge and transformation I received there will go with me for the rest of my life!!! I was given an opportunity to be apart of the worship team and play the drums for the church, I was a warehouse leader at the thrift store and helped do paperwork at the house of James for new intakes and things of that nature! I was also baptized in fire and started tapping into the gift of speaking in tongues for the first time while here! I strongly suggest and recommend REGENESIS to anyone with any type of addiction issue. Keep an open mind and be ready for CHANGE! They will help you like no other. I miss you all so much… you’re in my prayers always and will never forget that time of my life that help me grow so much spiritually, in my prayers ALWAYS. GOD BLESS!👍🙌🙏 – Rashad

CALL TODAY!! 804-451-4481 There is Hope!!

From One of Our Amazing Volunteers!

I volunteer with the House of Esther because I believe King’s words that we are called to do a job and that we should do that job well. And I want to work with an organization that is doing its job well. Regenesis and the House of Esther provide biblical and job training that give women the opportunity to change their lives. In over a decade, I have seen families reunited, recovery from addiction, and cycles of poor decision-making broken. Through God’s grace and a commitment by the women, I have witnessed people go from broken and distraught to confident and at peace. I Timothy 2:5-6b says “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all…” One thing I love about this verse is that there are no caveats as to who Jesus gave His life for. He died for all. There is no way to misunderstand that simple word. No person’s sin or past is so bad that Jesus can’t forgive it! So it doesn’t matter who you are. That simple word “all” means just what it says. Prostitutes, pastors’ wives, and every walk of life in between have come through the program over the years. People with various criminal backgrounds, addicts or those in recovery, persons suffering from neglect and abuse or persons who were the abuser, and differences in education, careers, or family situations don’t matter! “All” are welcome. “All” can find hope. “All” can find healing. “All” can find a better way, a path to restoration and peace through Jesus Christ 🌱. -KK

If you know someone who is struggling with addiction issues have them CALL TODAY 804-451-4481!!

I came to Regenesis broken and thought I was unworthy until I met Pastor Gary and his wife Tracey. That was January 12th, 2021 and my life changed. I was using heroin daily wasting my life away not enjoying small things. Small things were getting on my nerves such as everyday tasks: job, relationship, everything was messed up and I felt I could not function without drugs.

Regensis showed me how to manage life on life’s terms, and how to handle situations that I never thought I could work thru. I gave it all to God. That is what got me through when I felt I didn’t think I could.

Now I have a good support system, and a woman that will be by my side no matter what happens. I have a steady job and can support myself financially and have never been able to do that before. I have joy in my life now that I never experienced. No matter what the situation, I now know that joy, peace and comfort I found, can never be taken away. I’m now also a man that people want to be around and family, friends and co-workers know they can now depend on me. I would like to give a BIG thank-you to every staff member at Regensis. -DH

Tell someone today who is struggling their is hope! CALL TODAY 804-451-4481!!!

My addiction started when I was very young, I guess it was at the age of 12. I had a very bad childhood. My father would physically abuse me, so my mother took me and my sister after the divorce. I can remember the last words My father told me “You are lucky you are going to live with your mother because I probably would have killed you”. My mother was a traveling welder. I never got that good of an education because we moved all the time. My mother worked so much so, that gave me all the time in the world to drink, do drugs and skip school until I finally quit school all together, so I could spend more time drinking and drugging. Alcohol was the first drug that I used and I loved it. I’ve been homeless and been in jail many times. I tried every drug you can imagine and none of them ever satisfy me until I met my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at Regenesis. God used Regenesis and saved my life, literally. I had drank for so many years I had developed paranoid schizophrenia, depression and a sleeping disorder. I just thank God for Regenesis and how they changed my mindset on how to live life to the fullest. Now I have a great life, my own apartment, a wonderful job and it was all thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and Regenesis -John

Please let someone know today, there is hope!

I used drugs for over 20 years. I started them when I was 15 years old. At first it was for fun. I was getting high wit friends on the weekends. Alot of stuff ended up happening and I went from doing it for fun to wanting to be numb. And before I knew it I was addicted. I used because everyday was painful. Either I was sick from not having or I was in pain mentally. Either way it took over me and consumed my entire life. Every thought was where my next high was coming from. Me and my just has been together for 14 years. Alot of up and downs. We used together. God has something bigger for us and now with the help of Regenesis’s taking us both. We have been clean 18 almost 19 months. I know it’s just a number to most people but to people like us, 18 months is is a huge deal, or what time someone has clean is a big deal. This program has saved us, and has helped save my marriage, and our enteral life’s. God is the center of my life, our life. We are part of something that not alot of people have and that’s a great Christian family. People who have taken their life and has put it to helping people like me, people who the world don’t Want nothing to do with. I just thank them with all my heart. And I hope the right person reads this that has the same problem we did, and this gives them hope that there is something more than living in addition. That there is Hope found in Regenesis. With God anything is possible. We are living proof of that.

Please tell someone who is struggling, there is hope! Have them call today! 804-451-4481

I went through some pretty traumatic situations as a child. Which eventually lead me to drinking at a young age, that soon lead to an everyday thing. I then got addicted to pills at the age of 15. I then ended up in a very toxic relationship, being physically and mentally abused. Once I finally freed myself from that situation I was then raped by a man that I trusted. Which shortly after that ordeal I moved up from pills to heroin. I was then addicted to heroin for about 10 years. Struggling with my addiction, I ended up in and out of jail. Lost many friends. Loved ones didnt want anything to do with me because my addiction was tearing them down as well. I was stealing from places to support my habit. Which landed me in jail more and more. I tried several times to get clean and could never do it on my own. I then ended up in jail for the last time, looking at quite a few years in prison. But God! While incarcerated I was told about the Regenesis Program. So I applied and was accepted. Upon getting released from jail I reported to Regenesis and that was on December 6, 2019. My Daddy was sick with lung cancer and near the end of his days on earth and my Leaders and House Manager April were all there for me. They helped me to realize that Jesus was the only one who could help ease my broken heart. My Daddy passed shortly after coming and it was one of the hardest things I had gone through and i know that if it wasn’t for Regenesis helping me I would have fallen back into my past life of addiction. With the constant support of the Program and them teaching me how to lean on the Lord I have been clean for almost 4 years. I am currently a store manager at the thrift stores here. Since coming to Regenesis I have found my soulmate and got married to an amazing man of God. I have been reunited with family and my dog. I also help out the program director with trying to bring more people into the program to help share the word that there is help. Regenesis and God have saved my life and I know that it can help anyone else. Just reach out. There is help. There is hope! Have them call today! 804-451-4481

I was a heroin addict for 8 years and because of my addiction I made some really bad choices which in turn landed me in prison. During my time of incarceration I cried out to God to save me and I made a decision to turn my life over to Jesus. I developed a relationship with him praying night and day and studying his word and telling others about him. While I was in prison I was seeking God with all my heart. I attended church services 3 days a week and joined the men’s church choir. Then in 2018 I was baptized with a group of about 8 guys that wanted to give their life to Jesus. I ministered to alot of guys through out my incarceration and seen a couple of them turn their lives over to Jesus. Then at the end of 2019 on Christmas Eve I was released to the Regenesis program. I had asked the judge during my sentencing about coming to this place because of my addiction but I know now that it was ordained by God because the Lord knew the plans He had for me. Since coming to Regenesis the Lord has blessed me in so many ways and I’m beyond Thankful for the family of believers that I’ve been placed in. I would love to tell you all the great things that God has done for me but it would take a book for me to write it all! I can tell you that am completely free of my addiction and that the Lord chose the woman for me, that is now my wife. We both stayed on as staff for Regenesis and continue to seek the deeper things of God. Jesus is the only way to true Joy and living a life in Him has given me my purpose.

Please tell someone who is struggling, there is hope! Have them call today! 804-451-4481

In 2009 I came to Regenesis broken. My husband was cheating on me and took my children from me and my father had just passed. I started to dry my sours in alcohol and I ended up going to the psych ward or the nearby hospital to try and find help and that’s where God met me. I went through a six month program someone called a Jesus jail. That’s where my foundation in the word of God grew and it was there that I had love and support like I’ve never known before. After I graduated the program and became a “ leader” in the ministry, I learned that doing life with God at the wheel rather than in the passenger seat was the only way to live. If it wasn’t for God sending me to Regenesis and being under His covering and the watchful eyes of his faithful servants I don’t know where I would be today. -Nichole ❤️

If you know someone struggling let them know that there is hope! Call today 804-451-4481!!

Hello my name is Kenny, a living, breathing testimony of Gods mighty hand at work! I am the youngest of five children, so I’ve always been favored by my mother, her baby boy. I was raised in a loving home with parents who attended church on a regular basis and I enjoyed going to church myself. In my teenage years I began to hang with the wrong group of friends and began to find myself into activities that was not pleasing to my parents and began a long path of rebellion. I started using marijuana, skipping school and grades fell dramatically and it only got worse. I began to break laws, experimenting with hard drugs and was in and out of incarceration in the following years. My parents always stuck by my side and tried to do what was best for me and enrolled me into many different rehabs. They seemed to work for a short period of time and then I was back to my rebellious, wild, drug-filled ways. It’s when I experimented with her herion for the first time and became addicted that is when I hit my bottom and began to not have a care in the world for anybody or anything. Because of my “I don’t care” attitude, my actions landed me do more jail time and my parents began to take their loving hands off me and show me tough love, which is what I needed. It was my last stint in jail is when I fell on my knees and cried out to God for help, I was lost, and He heard my cry! I heard about Regenesis and at first was very reluctant, little did I know it would have been the BEST decision I have ever made in life. Since coming to Regenesis, most importantly I’ve found and come to know God on a personal basis, by the power of the Holy Spirit I have been set free from addiction. Being here at Regenesis I have learned what it means to be a true leader, a follower a Christ and most of all I have learned who I am IN CHRIST🙌. The joy of the Lord wakes me up on a daily basis, and I am forever changed. God is using Regenesis to help break the chains of addiction not just for me but for so many others as well! Hallelujah!

Tell someone struggling, there is hope! Call today 804-451-4481

My story starts when I was 13 years old. I was smoking weed and drinking. My parents seperated when I was young, so I grew up in a divided household. My dad was always working, so I pretty much had the freedom to do whatever I pleased when I lived with him and the times I lived with my mom, I just did things behind her back because I already had that taste of freedom. I was rebellious and I didn’t care about anyone but myself. As I got older things got worse. At 18 I was drinking, doing mushrooms, acid, and cocaine. Every weekend I’d party so hard I wouldn’t even remember how I got home the next morning. In May of 2015 I got in a bad car accident and the doctor prescribed me Roxy 30s. Once the doctor stopped prescribing them, I went to heroine. Everything went downhill from there. I then became a “trashcan” using anything I could get my hands on. I would steal, rob people, and lie. Anything to get a fix. I was in and out of all kinds of rehabs. Was sober then not sober. It got so bad I lost custody of my daughter and my parents were prepared to bury me by the end of that year. Having my daughter taken from me snapped something inside of me and I knew it had to end. When I first went to Regenesis I did not believe in God at all. I just believed we died and that was it. Until God gave me a vision and from then on I knew God had always had me right in the palm of his hand, even when I didn’t believe. Regenesis saved my life. They didn’t just teach me about God, they taught me life skills. Being at Regenesis was one of the hardest things I ever did. It was like taking a jack hammer to my way of thinking. Starting new, getting rid of those bad habits and cycles that kept me in addiction. I thank God everyday for leading me to Regenesis. I was surrounded by people that loved me and supported me every step of the way. I walked out not only sober and a sober minded person, but a better person. Kind, humble, loving, grateful, and a person my family didn’t even recognize. Today, I am almost 3 and a half years sober, have costudy of my daughter, in the process of my first home as a single mom, have a good job, and can provide for me and my daughter. I stay connected with Regenesis and go to church whenever I can. I give the glory all to GOD!!! Without him I would have never made it! -JB If you know some struggling today, there is hope!!! We are here to help!! 804-451-4481

My addiction really began when I was introduced to pain medication around 2010. After loosing control of my car on a rainy night and hitting a tree, I was left with horrible back pain and severe head aches where my head went into the windshield.

After seeing many doctors and doing physical therapy I was sent to pain management for my chronic pain. The pain management doctor placed me on Oxycontin and Percocet. At this time I was in nursing school and really believed in our health system and my doctor’s. I was told that I was dependent and not addicted like an addict. I was different!!! I had NOTHING to worry about! Boy, were they wrong!!! As you can imagine nursing school was stressful and before I graduated I quickly realized that these medications not only relieved my physical pain but my mental pain and almost made me feel super human. I graduated nursing school and landed a job in the operating room as a Registered Nurse. After 2 years of taking them as prescribed, I started taking them for almost anything and needed more and more. Then one day my doctor abruptly left the practice and I was given a new doctor. My new doctor knew I had a problem and kicked me out as a patient, only writing me one script and saying good luck getting in some where else.

I didn’t know what to do. I was convinced I didn’t have an issue and that I needed these medications to survive. Having no where to get pain medication I ended up at a methadone clinic because the sickness from withdrawal and having to experience my physical pain was more than I could bare. However, going to a methadone clinic only lead me to meet other people who had this similar addiction and I started to spiral out of control, doing anything I could get my hands on. My addiction was no longer manageable. It was managing me.

I slowly started loosing everything I had worked hard for. Lost my job and shortly after my family and home. I attempted suiced countless times until the last time when I ended up in a coma hooked up to machines in the ICU. I was so mad at God for not taking me because I thought I was done. But God knew I wasn’t done and had a plan.

I spent 14 days in the hospital and was finally released when I found a rehab that could take me. No one wanted to take me but Regenesis did! They looked past my multiple health issues that the doctors claimed I had.

These beautiful, loving and caring people at Regenesis knew how the power of God could heal ANYTHING and truly believed that it would happen and it did!!

It brings me to tears when I think about where I used to be and where I am now and it’s all because God and Regenesis. -MT

Let someone know there is hope! Call today 804-451-4481!!