Success Stories

Bridget Dowling …

Bridget Dowling has set a new and significant milestone for Old Pueblo Community Services.  She is the first client to enter our Transitional Housing program and move all the way through to become an owner of an Old Pueblo affordable home.  Bridget has achieved for herself the goal Old Pueblo holds for all whom we serve – to move them to self-sufficiency.

Bridget’s story begins at age 19, when she started using crack cocaine.  This led her through five rehab facilities, several encounters with the law, and probation until she was arrested in October of 2002 for the sale of a narcotic drug.  She spent 3 years in prison, being incarcerated first in Pima County Jail and then in the Perryville/Santa Cruz unit of the Arizona State Prison system.

It was during her incarceration that she lost custody of her two minor children, ages 9 and 11.  She said even in prison she was not free from the addiction that led her there.  Following a hearing in January of 2004, a fellow inmate found about a gram of powder cocaine in the dress-out room and shared it with Bridget and four other women during their transport back to Perryville.  She said they were using this drug “shackles and all”.

She reached a point, however, when she said she decided she wanted to change her life.  She completed 45 hours of college credit in graphic arts, computers and parenting.  For the last six months of her incarceration she entered the Southern Arizona Correctional Release Center (known as SACRC) where she enrolled in substance abuse treatment and counseling and participated in a work release program working at Martinizing during the day and returning to jail at night.

 Bridget applied to Old Pueblo’s Oasis House for Women upon parole, and after waiting for a vacancy she completed the 90-day program, graduated the program and applied for a House Manager position.  No positions were open when she applied, so she went to work for her aunt and uncle chauffeuring for them and worked for Avenues Valet.  Two months later a House Manager position opened at Old Pueblo, and Bridget became the Lead House Manager for one of the Oasis House for Women facilities and held that position for six months.

Bridget’s mother-in-law operated a half-way house for men, and because of her experience, Bridget encouraged her to open what was to be called the HOW House for Women (Honest, Open and Willing).  Bridget managed that house, still hoping to remain connected to Old Pueblo Community Services.  While she was still managing the HOW House, she was hired part-time by Old Pueblo as Intake Coordinator for Women.   This position evolved into full-time that also included the position as Women’s Coordinator – responsible for running house meetings and supervising the House Managers.  She then decided to leave the HOW House so she was not overworking herself and could maintain her sobriety.

When one of Old Pueblo’s Case Managers took her vacation, Bridget was asked to assume her responsibilities.  Having fulfilled that assignment very well, Bridget was promoted into the position of Case Manager for the Oasis House for Women program.  Bridget has been sober since that incident in January of 2004.  Because her mother-in-law adopted her two children, Bridget has been able to continue to be involved in their lives.

While in prison, Bridget’s parents sent her a little money regularly.  She was able to save $500 which allowed her to buy a car for $400 and get insurance upon her release.   She said, “Little by little things got better.”  Bridget applied to Old Pueblo Community Services’s Housing Development Department to purchase an affordable home.  She qualified, and her home is to be complete this coming April. 

 Bridget describes working with Old Pueblo Community Services as “living her dream”; she said while she was in prison she dreamed of helping women with substance abuse problems.  She expressed deep gratitude to Leah and Nick Jones of Old Pueblo for what she calls the chance of a lifetime.  She doesn’t make work her “recovery”.  She attends 12-step meetings and works with her sponsor, takes other women to meetings to help them in their recovery.

She says her parents can’t believe how far she’s come.  She is hoping to move her parents from Las Vegas to Tucson to live with her in her new home.  Her father is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, which puts a strain on her mother.  She wants them to move in with her so that she can help them for a change.