My dad was into drugs, doing heroin.

When I was two, my parents separated because Mum had had enough of being mistreated. So, she gave him an ultimatum… and he left.

When I was fifteen, I dropped out of school and moved in with Dad… [then] Dad asked his speed dealer if he could take care of me.

I was in a toxic relationship with the dealer for years – heavily on drugs, in countless police raids and racking up a lot of charges.

I couldn't get out. I was just so stuck in it. I kept getting arrested.

I was really thankful when I went to prison, because I knew without prison nothing would stop me. I wasn’t happy to be there of course!

But while I was in prison, my grandma died. And then my dad died.

He hadn’t been answering my letters. He wasn’t ringing, you know, which was strange. And eventually his girlfriend called the prison and said, ‘He’s got cancer.’

Mum hadn’t spoken to him for a very long time, but I asked her to go see him. He was on his deathbed. She didn’t want to go but she did for me. She said he prayed and gave his life back to God.

After that, Mum suggested Teen Challenge and I was able to go there rather than stay in prison.

Teen Challenge QLD was hard. I could hide in prison, but I couldn’t hide there. You’ve got to really participate in the daily activities and the chores.

I really gave myself to that and I loved being in a godly environment.

When I arrived, I was at my lowest. But it was transformative for me.

I was finally ready to face underlying issues that had kept me locked in a life of drugs and destruction. I left the program a changed person in mind, body and spirit.

Teen Challenge QLD turned my life around, filling it with love and hope.

I am now the person I always wanted to be; I can give my family my whole, healed self.

And Bec’s story is just one of hundreds that friends like you are making possible through your generous partnership with Teen Challenge QLD.