Ashley Serkin

Ashley had every reason to succeed growing up. She was raised in a healthy, family-oriented environment in New Jersey. She did well in school and for the most part, she stayed out of trouble. She never had an unmet need in her life. What she lacked were boundaries and self-respect. Around the time that boys started coming into her life, she felt pressured to do things to keep them around. As is common with addicts, she was completely codependent. She started smoking weed and that escalated to her drug of choice, heroin. Eventually, the boys were gone, and she had to get her to fix for herself. She found herself doing things she would have never dreamed of doing. She was stealing from the people who loved her most, which led to homelessness and desperation. Ashley even had a son, who was lucky enough to have her mother there to care for him after she was unable to anymore.

Ashley had heard about The Other Side Academy in Utah early in her addiction, but never thought she was as bad as everyone made her sound. It wasn’t until almost 2 years later that she hit her rock bottom and decided, “Maybe I do need help.” She reached out to Lola Strong at The Other Side Academy, who accepted her into the program. Because Ashley was considered a flight risk, her mother brought her to the airport, walked her all the way to the gate, and stayed until she boarded the plane. That did not stop Ashley from trying to find a ride back from the airport though. The assumptions were correct. Luckily for Ashley, her phone died and her new life was born.

At The Other Side Academy, it was hard for Ashley to hear feedback from her peers. But after sitting with the feedback, she eventually changed her behaviors. All she knew was that she did not want to be the person she was before. Things her mother had told her like, “You’re not the daughter I raised,” kept running through her head. She knew that she wanted to do whatever she could to become the person she was meant to be. During her stay at TOSA she learned how to set boundaries with people, love herself, and gained her family’s trust back. After staying 2 years, she stayed another year out of love for the women she had developed relationships with and a desire to serve them. At the end of her third year, she was offered a job at The Other Side Thrift Boutique as a Transportation Coordinator for all of the donation pickups and sale deliveries, as well as making sure the students are getting to their appointments. She finds her job rewarding because it keeps her connected to the students who work there, who she has close relationships with.