Healing Hearts Housing

05/15/2026

“My best friend of 23 years spent the past 2 weeks in the ICU thanks to a v**e bought from 7-Eleven. It has been undoubtedly the worst weeks of her life but more so her parents, myself, and loved ones who had to witness the horror.

Amanda was sick with a 103-degree fever and was sent home from immediate care being told she had the ‘flu.’ 5 days later, she was brought to the ER after vomiting and passing out. After being diagnosed with pneumonia, she was about to be discharged from the hospital when one of the nurses noticed her oxygen levels dropping rapidly low (low enough to think the machine was broken and had to request another one). They rushed her up to the ICU.

They immediately put her on a ventilator and discovered her lungs were filled with blood and fluid. She was basically drowning in her own blood and wouldn’t have made it back in time had she gone home. Luckily, the doctors didn’t waste any time for test results and immediately started treating her with steroids, antibiotics, and dialysis. It was impossible to tell where the blood in her lungs was coming from because every time they would flush them out they would fill back up again.

Watching Amanda cough was beyond horrible. The only thing I can compare it to is the horror movie ‘Saw.’ Her face would turn blue because she couldn’t breathe and blood would pour into her respirator tube as she grasped the bed handles waiting for it to stop. I can speak for everyone in that room; if you spent just one moment in there, you would never look at a v**e again. It got to the point where she was having these episodes 2-3 times an hour and her stats were dropping so low they were not coming back up.

Her kidneys had already failed and on the 4th day in the hospital she had developed something called ARDS; her lungs started to fail. This was a very emotional day for all of us because it was a huge setback. I am tearing up again trying to write this because all I can think about is how distressed her mother and father were. At that point, they decided to sedate her completely to give her body a chance to rest.

After several days of being completely sedated on 3 heavy drugs, her 29-year-old body started to fight back. The bleeding had stopped and she was remaining stable. The doctors had diagnosed her with the newly-named disease ‘EVALI’ (e-cigarette or va**ng product use-associated lung injury). So far, there have been over 2,000 reported cases in the US and over 38 deaths. Amanda was the 3rd case in West New York diagnosed and the first one to survive.

Amanda was one of the lucky ones to make it out thanks to countless prayers and the amazing team of doctors and nurses. She is now home getting rest and training her body to walk again.

I have been seeing a lot on the news in regards to the dangers of va**ng but none of them show how awful it REALLY is. I am writing this not to upset anyone but to hopefully save a life. You need to know it CAN happen to you or your best friend. Please don’t take the chance.”

Credit by: Elizabeth Forsyth of Buffalo, New York via Love What Matters

05/13/2026

Addiction does not discriminate. It does not care about age, background, education, income, or where someone comes from. More often than not, it begins with pain, trauma, loss, loneliness, mental health struggles, or simply trying to escape something that feels unbearable.
No child grows up dreaming of becoming addicted.
Recovery is not weakness. Asking for help is not weakness. In fact, it takes incredible courage to rebuild a life after addiction has taken hold.
At Healing Hearts Housing, we believe people deserve compassion, support, accountability, and a safe place to heal. Every woman who walks through our doors is someone’s daughter, mother, sister, or friend. Behind every struggle is a human being worthy of love and dignity.
We ask our community to continue learning, supporting, encouraging, and believing in those fighting for recovery. Stigma keeps people sick. Compassion helps people heal.
If you know someone struggling, please do not give up on them. Recovery is possible. We see miracles happen every day.
Together, we can be part of the solution.
With love and hope,
Healing Hearts Housing

Please share this post to spread the word that services are available.
Thank you

05/10/2026

05/03/2026

☀️ When the Weather Gets Nice… So Do the Triggers ☀️

If you’re in recovery, you already know this is the time of year that can sneak up on you.
The sun is out.
The lakes are calling.
People are on boats, at bonfires, holding cold drinks and laughing.
And out of nowhere, that thought can hit…
“Man… that looks nice.”
Let’s just be honest for a minute… it does look nice.
But we also know where it leads.
For many of us, it was never just one drink.
It didn’t stop at the boat or the bonfire.
It ended in places we swore we’d never go back to.
So here’s the truth we have to hold onto:
You’re not craving alcohol.
You’re craving connection. Freedom. Fun. Relief.
And guess what?
You can still have all of that… without destroying your life.
💛 Go fishing with sober people
💛 Sit by a fire and actually remember the night
💛 Take the drive, eat the food, laugh until your stomach hurts
💛 Build a life you don’t have to escape from
But also hear this…
If you’re early in recovery, or feeling shaky, it’s okay to say: “That’s not where I belong right now.”
That’s not weakness. That’s wisdom.
Play the tape all the way through.
Not just the first 10 minutes… but the whole story.
Because for us, it was never just a drink.
Stay connected.
Call someone.
Go to the meeting even when you don’t feel like it.
And remind yourself:
✨ I didn’t come this far to lose it over a nice day.
✨ I’m not missing out… I’m finally living.
If you’re struggling today, you’re not alone.

Reach out. Stay close. Keep going.

We do recover. ❤️

04/30/2026

I didn’t start drinking because I wanted to destroy my life.
I started because it seemed normal. It seemed helpful. It seemed like something everyone did to relax, to connect, to take the edge off. Nobody told me what it really was or what it could turn into.
Alcohol is presented as the answer to everything. Long day? Have a drink. Stressed out? Have a drink. Celebrating? Have a drink. Lonely? Have a drink.
And after a while, you stop even thinking about it. It just becomes what you do.
What people don’t talk about is how slowly that shift happens. What starts as something occasional turns into something you rely on. What felt like a choice starts feeling like a need. And before you even realize it, it’s not helping you cope anymore, it’s quietly taking control.
That’s the part that catches people off guard.
Because it doesn’t happen all at once. It’s subtle. It’s gradual. It blends into your life so well you don’t see it for what it is.
But here’s the truth I had to learn the hard way. Alcohol doesn’t fix anything.
It doesn’t take away the stress, the anxiety, the pain, or the loneliness. It just puts a temporary layer over it. And everything you avoid dealing with is still there, waiting, growing, getting heavier.
At some point, you realize you’re not actually living your life. You’re managing it. Numbing it. Getting through it.
And that’s not the same thing.
Real change didn’t come for me until I stopped trying to escape how I felt and started facing it. That’s where everything began to shift.
Learning to sit with emotions. Being honest with myself. Leaning into faith. Surrounding myself with the right people. Finding purpose. Putting one foot in front of the other, even when it was uncomfortable.
Those are the things that actually heal.
Because a better life isn’t built on avoidance. It’s built on truth, connection, and growth.
Alcohol may be everywhere. It may be accepted. It may even be encouraged.
But that doesn’t mean it has to be part of your story.
There is another way to live.
And I promise you, it’s worth it.

Healing Hearts Housing
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04/30/2026

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Healing Hearts Housing

04/28/2026

04/23/2026

Love this song! For every woman...

7.3K likes, 329 comments. "Inga Rose - Celebrate Me (Lyrics)"

04/19/2026

There is something I want to share from the heart.
Not every woman who comes through our doors at Healing Hearts is ready to stay. Some leave. Some relapse. Some go back out into the very things they were trying to escape.
And that is one of the hardest parts of this journey.
But I want it to be known… just because someone is no longer living in our home does not mean they are no longer loved.
We do not give up on them.
We pray for them. We think about them. We carry them in our hearts. We hope, with everything in us, that one day it will click, that something will shift, and they will find their way back to recovery.
Sometimes people just are not ready yet. And that is a painful truth, but it is still the truth.
Recovery is not always a straight line. It is messy. It is hard. It takes time.
Our doors may close for a season, but our hearts never do.
If you are out there struggling, please hear this… YOU ARE STILL LOVED. You are still worth fighting for. And we are praying that you find your way to a place where you can heal and recover.
Cheri Frank

04/19/2026

Amen!!