April 24, 2025
BY JOHN BAILEY
Life seldom travels in a straight line.
It’s usually filled with moments of falling and then getting back up.
In 2019, Melissa Cruse had been an addict for 22 years and was done falling.
“It’s like you’re in your mind screaming, pounding on the walls to get out but your body keeps doing the same thing,” Cruse said in March, during a visit with the Catawba County United Way (CCUW) at Safe Harbor. The CCUW sat down with Cruse to talk about her journey from addiction to a source of inspiration for others.
“I was sick and tired of it all, but I didn’t see a way out. I was continuing to use drugs through pregnancy, through homelessness, raising children. I could not lay it down.”
Today, Cruse is no longer that person. Over her shoulder, she points to one of the new houses in The Cottages at Ridgeview built by Habitat for Humanity of Catawba Valley.
“That’s my home,” she said.
Cruse currently works for Integrated Care of Greater Hickory (ICGH) as a program coordinator. ICGH offers behavioral health services for those suffering from a substance use disorder. She is also a board member for Safe Harbor, which runs residential recovery programs for women and is where she began her journey to sobriety.
It started when a friend mentioned the agency and Cruse found a YouTube video about Safe Harbor.
“There were women talking about the transformation in their lives, how they were drawn closer to God, and they restored relationships with their family. I just bawled, cried," Cruse said. "I was about as far away from God and my family as I could get.”
According to the 2023 United States National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 48.5 million Americans (aged 12 and older) battle a substance use disorder.
After watching the video, Cruse decided she was going to do whatever it took to be at Safe Harbor. She immediately signed up for the Whole Woman Recovery class. For the first time since she was 15, Cruse could see a clear path in front of her.
The class taught Cruse about setting boundaries and recognizing safe environments. She attended class every week and made it 30 days sober.
Then…she celebrated by getting high.
But instead of falling back into old habits completely, Cruse leaned into the new skills Whole Woman taught her, forgave herself and set a new course for her and her two children.
Safe Harbor Executive Director Gigi Williams said that is the program’s goal, to help keep women from falling through gaps.
“We’re focused on connecting them to mental health and addiction resources, keeping them from relapsing or going off their medication,” Williams said.
After Whole Woman, Cruse enrolled in CASCADE Charlotte, a residential recovery service for mothers and their children. It taught her how to live day-to-day without drugs and allowed her to make a home with her children free from addiction. After completing the year-long program, Cruse had to decide where she would go next.
“I knew if I went back to where I was living, to my old life in Gaston County, where I ran the roads in my addiction, I’d wind up sick again,” she said.
Fortunately, there was an alternative she was already familiar with and trusted.
Cruse had a friend from CASCADE who had enrolled in the GreenLeaf transitional housing program back at Safe Harbor and suggested she do the same.
GreenLeaf is a secured apartment community with 14 units for women and women with children. For the first time, she felt like she was part of a community where everyone looked out for each other, helped each other.
GreenLeaf also provides several services to help prepare women to be successful on their own. They can apply for a donated vehicle through Hope on Wheels. There is case management and a financial mentor.
Cruse admitted that you have to be in a place of readiness if you want sobriety to stick.
“Six years ago I was someone that was dependent upon society for my survival whether it was Medicaid, food stamps, childcare vouchers or rental assistance,” she said. “Now as a result of coming through these programs and working these steps, I’m a homeowner. I pay my taxes. I serve on boards, and I contribute to society today.”
Cruse is always happy to share the wisdom she’s acquired from her journey through addiction, especially with those taking their first steps down the same road.
“I tell the girls who are in our housing program, you don’t come to this and act the same way,” Cruse said.
“You have to change everything about your daily routine and your daily structure. You have to build a life that does not have room for drugs and alcohol anymore.”
If you or someone you know needs help call NC 211 for local resources - dial 2-1-1 or visit https://nc211.org/.