Dear House of Hope,

I have the not-so unique opportunity to be a sister to a woman with bi-polar disorder.  She is also a recovering addict who lives every day like she has been given a gift.  I want to share a little about my older sister because I recently had the realization that there are so many people out there still living the way Karrie used to live and they have families who have to watch them struggle day after day not knowing what storm their illness will blow in next!  

The other night at work, I met a lady who was living my life 12 years ago!  I saw so much of myself in her and I wanted to hug her and let her meet Karrie so she could see that there was hope for her sister too!!  I honestly thought that Karrie would be long gone before Nate made it to Jr High.  

We all know in our hearts that Karrie is here for reasons beyond all of us!  Her second husband passed away suddenly last October after struggling with addiction and several different health problems and seeing her cope with that loss and still hold a job, maintain her own sobriety, continue to sponsor many young women in recovery, and  spread herself paper thin across our family being the favorite fun Aunt and family rescue service touches my heart because I never thought that she'd be in that place!

I hope someday her children will allow her the forgiveness she deserves.  She continues to try to regain their acceptance and trust but no matter how hard she tries, the consequences of her past haunt her like her choices were yesterday!  Someday they will hopefully know that she is a woman of faith, loyalty, perseverance and strength!  I admire her courage!  I know I am blessed to be in her life!  I thank my Father in Heaven for the experiences we've shared, good and bad, because we are better for having them!

A few years ago I wrote this letter to the treatment program Karrie graduated from.  I am truly grateful for what they gave her! 

Dear House of Hope,

We are writing you this letter today to express our gratitude for the life, and possibly many other lives, you quite literally saved by taking Karrie Mortensen into your program.

The truth of the matter is that a year and a half ago we did not expect Karrie to make it two more months.

She was picked up and put into jail after numerous D.U.I. charges.  Our family gave every effort to trying to “control” the situation, everything from disabling her car to hiding it in family member’s garages.  All with threats of violence towards each of us. 

We were so grateful when we received the collect phone call from Salt Lake City Correctional facility and her voice screaming at the other end that they won’t let her go!   “I cannot take another stay here!  You have to do something!  They said that I might have to serve six months!  I am so scared!  Help me!!!”

The phone calls continued, all full of anger and Karrie saying that she wanted help, but we didn’t feel as if she really did, until a close family member, Karrie’s uncle, passed away in a horrible car accident.  She missed a very important time for our family. 

For some reason that was the turning point for her.  She finally got it!  She was going to need help to be able to control her drug addiction and her bi-polar disorder.  The House of Hope was a long wait for Karrie, but it gave her time to continue to really desire the help to make a change in her life.

Karrie graduated from The House of Hope’s residential treatment and chose to continue with day treatment.  She struggled through the treatment, but was given so much in return!  She now has the tools that she needs to be able to survive.  She mentioned the other day, that when she entered treatment, the description/name she was given was “Insanity”.  I think that hurt her at first, but the one she is known by now is “Hope”.  I can’t express to you with words how appropriate that is for her.  She is full of hope and faith and truth!  What honorable qualities!  We never thought we would ever be able to describe her using those words!  We know that Karrie’s struggle is not over and that she wasn’t “cured”, but she now has the knowledge and power to take things day by day and continue “in recovery”.

Our sorrow watching Karrie’s self-destruction was tremendous!  We are a very close family.  We share a lot.  It has hurt to not share with Karrie because she was just not capable or coherent.  We prayed at times for God to take her sooner than later because we were terrified that she was going to take the lives of an innocent family.  We hated watching her suffer in the misery and pain that addiction had put her into. 

I remember on several occasions waking up to see on the news a report of a D.U.I. accident, and holding my breath while I waited for them to announce the name of the offender.  We would take turns checking on Karrie to make sure that she was still alive.  She would call after days of abuse and not be able to speak.  We only knew it was her from the caller I.D.  She missed so much of things taking place in our family and we missed her!

We are so thankful for the judge that sentenced her to House of Hope because he saved her life!  Your program saved her life!  We are forever grateful because she was most definitely worth saving!  We love her and we need her around!  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!  For saving our Karrie!  She is precious to us!  We needed her smile back, and now we have it!

With Sincere Gratitude,

The Mortensen Family

                     We love you, Sis!!!