Cindy's Story

My name is Cindy Duran and I am a recovering methamphetamine addict. About 17 years ago, I began using meth. Prior to this, I was an honor roll student determined to graduate from high school despite the fact that I was already a single parent. Upon graduating, I was hired with the Department of Insurance and Finance. Shortly after, I was introduced to methamphetamine and that was the beginning of my downward spiral. It didn’t take long for me to quit my job so that I could devote more time to getting high.

Over the next 13 years, my life became unmanageable; I now had 4 children, no job and my days were spent trying to get more drugs. I had now turned to criminal activity to finance my drug habit. This included selling, meth, ID theft and numerous other crimes.

Meth was so powerful, it took control of my life. I was no longer the person I used to be. I was paranoid, delusional and most importantly, I was a danger to myself, my children and society.

Eventually, I was arrested in a motel room with one of my children. I was pregnant when I was sentenced to 34 months in prison and 3 years of parole. I gave birth to my youngest son a few months later and he was taken into foster care the day after his birth.

While in prison, I had the opportunity to participate in many programs such as Parenting, Early Head Start, Pathfinders, and residential drug treatment. It was here that my life began to change. Because of my meth addiction, I had lost all feelings and emotions. After 18 months of being off drugs, my mind began to clear and I was able to start thinking of what I had done and what I now wanted and needed to do in order to rebuild my life. I gained the tools I needed in order to stay clean and sober and also to become a good parent. I was also asked to participate on parenting panels, speaking to business leaders, judges, and other members of the community.

Finally, in June of 2003, I was released from prison. I knew what I wanted to do but was still unsure whether I could do as well on the “outside” as I did “inside.” With the encouragement of my mentor and my willingness to do whatever it took to stay clean, I was accepted into an Oxford House. I was now receiving visits with my children and using all my new parenting skills. In September, 2003, I enrolled as a full-time college student and in December I moved into my own apartment. Last July, my child custody case was closed and my children came to live with me, including the youngest who had been in foster care.

I now have 4 years clean and sober. Besides my responsibilities as a single parent of 5 children, a student and an employee, I am a member of the statewide Children of Incarcerated Parents Project and have also been asked to be a core member of the Marion County CIP Project. I have presented at conferences and to different organizations and was recently honored to read the Governors proclamation on Methamphetamine. I will be graduating from college in June with an Associates degree in Business Administration and am looking forward to a full-time job with Pathfinders.

I have learned to “accept life on life’s terms” and will continue to work hard to accomplish my goals. Most importantly, I am enjoying this new life I have with my children.

Hello again. I wanted to give a brief update on what I am doing these days. I graduated from college in June. I cannot count the number of times I felt like giving up but I am so glad that I am now able to finish what I start. The rewards are awesome. I am now employed by Pathfinders as a parent advocate and am enjoying every minute of my new career. I am so grateful to wake up each morning and know that I am actually capable of being a positive influence in someone’s life.

My children are enjoying their summer break. They are enrolled at the Boy’s & Girl’s Club and are having a great time making new friends and trying new things.

Between kids and work, I haven’t had much time to think about my future plans. For now, we are just enjoying life…one day at a time.