A SECOND CHANCE AT LIFE HOME > STORIES > SAN JOSE > A SECOND CHANCE AT LIFE “I had no more desire to live anymore. I was a desperate woman, drowning, unable to bring myself back up anymore.” That’s how Bernadette describes her life before coming to CityTeam. “I needed a new way to live,” she says. “I was tired, and I was just hopeless, just living in the dark.” Bernadette struggled with addiction for more than 20 years. Drugs had taken over her life, damaged her relationships with family, and stolen her desire to live. She spent countless days high and countless nights in sleeplessness — all the time freeloading off of friends, couch-surfing, and wasting her life away. Bernadette acknowledges she wasn’t raised that way by her conservative parents and now regrets abusing their patience and forgiveness. “I would just take advantage of it,” she says. “That was the addict in me. They could no longer control me. I was already lost.” Since coming to CityTeam, Bernadette has been able to take advantage of a wide array of services at CityTeam, including classes that helped her recognize and work on her codependency with others, manage her anger, be a better communicator and parent. And through our CityTeam @ Work program, she was able to find employment. RELATED STORIES A MOTHER’S LIFE RESTORED With the help of CityTeam Renew, Rebecca has overcome addiction and found new purpose. Her children have seen her hungry, […] WATCH NOW > BEST DAY OF MY LIFE Addiction took over his life, and he gave up on himself and his family. Jamaal was living in tents and […] WATCH NOW > INSPIRED TO GIVE BACK Before CityTeam, Jamal had no idea what his purpose was. He found himself asking, “what’s the point?” These days, he […] WATCH NOW > Questions? Contact us at 1.888.248.9832 or info@cityteam.org Select your city: San Jose Chester San Francisco Oakland Portland This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. CityTeam is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. EIN: 94-1501265 Copyright © 2021 CityTeam • All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. ABOUT US ▼ OUR CITIES ▼ STORIES GET INVOLVED ▼ WAYS TO GIVE ▼