United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley sets $6.45M campaign goal

By ALLISON KENNEDY
Ledger-Enquirer
September 4, 2009

Kjrsten Letourneaux put a face on United Way on Thursday, as the annual Chattahoochee Valley campaign kicked off in the ballroom of the Columbus Convention & Trade Center.

“I suffer from disease. It’s called addiction. But I didn’t wake up one day and say, ‘Hey, I think I’ll waste 17 years of my life,’” Letorneaux told a lunchtime crowd of more than 1,000. After she started drinking at age 17, Letorneaux moved on to marijuana and cocaine. Then, while jailed on drug charges a few years ago, Letorneaux learned about the House of T.I.M.E. from another inmate.

Letorneaux, 37, said she was attracted to the drug recovery residence — supported by the United Way — because of the “sense of belonging; and I knew it was where I needed to be.”

She landed in the home, which stands for “This I Must Earn,” in January 2007. She now has a management job in a restaurant, an apartment near Lakebottom Park and is saving money for college.

Click here to view PDF of full news story.


< Back