Amanda Adkins fights back tears and regains her composure as she remembers the lowest point of her life.

"I had gotten so bad on drugs that I ended up leaving my kids in the house," she said.

That day was Aug. 26, 2006. Someone called the police to alert them about the situation.

"I was drinking that night, too," Adkins said. "I don't remember a lot about it. But the police came to the door, and I answered it."

Adkins said she spent one night in jail. "And that for me was horrible," she said.

She also spent two weeks without seeing her two boys, who were 3 and 4 at the time. She had stopped using drugs, but was drinking alcohol and liquor, she said.

Adkins became an outpatient at The Counseling Center, and by Feb. 27, 2007, entered Stepping Stones, a 90-day residential treatment center in Portsmouth, sponsored by TCC.

"I was trying to get clean and sober," she said. "I went to Stepping Stones because I lost custody of my two boys. It was very hard, because I had used drugs for so long."

Adkins, 28, said she had used drugs for about 10 years. Her mother was ill during her addiction and eventually died from cancer.

With a tone of regret in her voice, she said, "I used a lot of drugs to forget about her being sick, and I wasn't really there for her."

With lots of prayers and patience, however, Stepping Stones offered Adkins the sanctuary she needed to get well.

"I had a little bit of a wait, because my children were with Childrens Services," Adkins said.

She waited until her first court appearance, and the case worker worked it out so her children could go to Stepping Stones with her. That's one of the unique things about Stepping Stones