From a young age, Rickie felt like the world was working against her. Raised in a turbulent household surrounded by drugs, alcohol, and abuse, Rickie was only 9 when she started self-harming. Rickie turned to drugs and alcohol as a teenager, finding an escape from her depression, but addiction is a disease that quickly takes over.
Becoming a version of herself that she did not recognize, Rickie soon found herself in a relationship that was emotionally, verbally, and physically abusive. This man would become the father of her children and Rickie would become stuck in a treacherous cycle of addiction, domestic violence, and incarceration. In 2021, Rickie hit her self-described “rock bottom” when she was incarcerated and pregnant with her youngest son, Adrian.
“Up until this point, I had chosen addiction over the most important thing in my life—my babies. I was determined to give up drugs for good,” Rickie told us.
When she left prison, Rickie was accepted into the ReMerge program in Oklahoma City. ReMerge is a longtime referral partner of Infant Crisis Services, and they connected Rickie with our program so she could get the items she needed to be the best mother for her children.
“Having access to Infant Crisis Services is a relief for sure. It is nice to know that I can get help with diapers and formula—it’s one less thing to stress about when things get hard,” Rickie continued, “I get to focus on being a good mom to my boys rather than think about how I’m going to get them diapers and food.”
Today, Rickie has maintained her sobriety for nearly two years, making her the mom she always dreamed of being, she has her license and steady employment in IT support, and she is working hard to regain custody of Dakota so that she can be the mom he deserves. Rickie has even volunteered in our packing room, learning the value of giving back to the community and helping so many other mothers.
“I have seen rock bottom and I’m going nowhere but up" Rickie shared. "I can’t wait to see what life has in store for me moving forward”
Infant Crisis Services
Infant Crisis Services
I don't have any family. It's just me, my kids, and my husband.
We were coming out of the end of covid and also the economy really affected our pay.
I had to ask for help.
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We, at Infant Crisis Services, serve every single person who comes through our door regardless of you know their documentation status, where they live, who they are, what their past looks like. We're really here for the babies and for the toddlers. We are feeding the future today so that we have happy and healthy adults 10-20 years down the line. When somebody gives to Infant Crisis Services, they are giving so much more than just that dry diaper and that full tummy. They are giving hope.
It's a huge impact on our everyday life. We don't have anybody to call when we're falling on hard times, but now we do. Definitely, Infant Crisis Services has been that family that I needed. I'm hopeful about my family's future.
