Stories

Hallmark’s made-for-TV romances have nothing on the real-life story of Eligio “Eli” Lujan and his wife, Ligia Chaparro-Torres. Their storybook tale includes a beautiful foreign locale, a happenstance meeting, an instant connection, and a second chance at love.

Between making those two right decisions on his own and discovering a helping hand from Volunteers of America Texas, William Balcom’s life now is as different from what it used to be as the proverbial night and day.

Being homeless and alone was a circumstance that had never crossed U.S. Army veteran Brenda Tolliver’s mind. But a referral to VOA Texas turned her life around for the better.

After almost being stranded several times, Sara desperately needed a new vehicle; without it, she could lose her job and, most importantly, her independence. A recent partnership with Volunteers of America Texas allows our Permanent Supportive Housing participants to own a reliable vehicle.

Business owner Michelle Deskeree stays busy. However, she didn't always occupy her time with the most productive outlets, especially after enduring childhood sexual abuse. Trauma struck again after the birth of her son when she struggled with post-partum depression. Michelle tried to counter on her own with prescription pills. But gaining access to a doctor’s prescription pad and writing her own landed her in jail and then rehab. While awaiting her transfer to prison, she spent a month in the Volunteers of America Texas Resolana pod, located inside of the Dallas County Jail. Here, she finally found the tools she needed to turn her life around.

It took four tries for Sherri Stidham to achieve sobriety. There were two stays in the Resolana trauma and addiction treatment program at the Dallas County Jail, an additional stay at a rehabilitation facility and a final relapse that pushed her into a recovery group. Now 4 ½ years sober, Sherri is successfully employed, attending college and sponsoring others on their own journey to sobriety.

Getting lost in the system is the last thing a prisoner in jail would want to experience. But for Danielle Keath, getting lost in the Dallas County Jail system meant getting found—and changed—through Resolana, the trauma and addiction treatment program run by Volunteers of America Texas.

Debra had a turbulent early start with an abusive, alcoholic mother. After her parents divorced, Child Protective Services dent Debra and her siblings to live with her father, a leader in a very strict church. Becoming a teen mom, resulted in Debra being rejected by the church. Later, a series of bad decisions landed Debra in the Dallas County Jail where she participated in the VOA Texas Resolana program. Now she's taking steps to lead others from the darkness she once found herself in.

A self-proclaimed "disaster case", Karen Wilson, a recovery drug addict, attributes her sobriety to the VOA Texas Resolana program inside the Dallas County Jail.

Tara Browning, a former participant in the Resolana trauma and addiction program run by Volunteers of America Texas at the Dallas County Jail is living her best, most stable life now. But a glance backward and she can clearly see the impact of her turbulent early life.