Essays: From the Streets: Latasha - Magdalene House

Latasha - Magdalene House

My name is Latasha. I was on the streets from the age of 14 I started drinking, I started using drugs at the age of 25. I’m 38 now. I didn’t stop using until I was the age of 38. At the age of 14, first boyfriend, started drinking with him, had 2 kids with him. He just used to fight on me all the time, I used to give him my money, I thought that this was what I supposed to do. I wasn’t taught right from wrong. I didn’t know, so the older I got, I got from men, always beated on me. They was just real abusive. Everytime I was with a man that was abusive that went to jail I went to someone else – same routine, same routine – that’s all that’s been going on in my life. I was just tired of it and was like, I gotta get out.

I have always been like shy, never like to talk in front of a crowd of people. When I came here, they encouraged me, you know? And I just wanted to challenge myself when I came here. I wanted a way out, I just wanted something different, I wanted to challenge myself. I always ran from whatever, this was the first time I ever had to deal with pain and feel the hurt without using drugs. I didn’t think I could do it but I did it because when I came up in here I already knew it was a 2 year program – been on the waitin’ list for four years. I lost my apartment back home and that’s another reason why I came here. I knew I was on this waiting list and I thought it out “Ok ‘tasha, you lost your apartment, your children grown, might as well, tired of living the way I was livin’, I wanted something different.”