Paige's problems started early in life. "I grew up in a good home filled with love, lots of family... we'd pray together, and I knew about God," she recalls. "But in the 5th grade a good friend killed herself with a gun. Then one of my best friends committed suicide in the 8th grade."

A few months later, Paige was gang raped at a high-school party. "I suddenly found myself really, really angry toward God. He was supposed to protect me. Why would he let these things happen to me?"

Her family moved from Portland to St. Helens, and Paige's new friends introduced her to marijuana. "I shut down, then started drinking, then cocaine. The next thing I knew, I was a full-blown addict, with heroin and meth."

"I didn't think God cared...no one else cared... why should I? I couldn't quit, and it just got worse and worse -- a vicious cycle."

Paige has been in our New Life Recovery Ministry for a year. She is well on the path toward healing and a newfound personal relationship with Jesus who does care. "And now I care," she says, "about myself, and others. There's hope."

Your support changes lives. Donate today at http://www.PortlandRescueMission.org/lp/facebook. Or call 503-MISSION (647-7466).