VISTA, CALIF.—It was two years ago when Amber Gann hit rock bottom.
“My oldest daughter had told me, ‘You’re a drug addict, and I don’t want to be with you,’” Gann told The Daily Signal.
Homeless, and also addicted to drugs and alcohol, Gann knew something had to change.
In May 2016, Gann, 36, enrolled in Solutions for Change, a nonprofit serving homeless families that takes a holistic, family-friendly approach to homelessness.
Unlike the federal government’s Housing First strategy for addressing homelessness, which prioritizes getting people sheltered before going after the root causes of why they’re homeless, Solutions for Change requires parents to work and remain drug-free.
But because of these requirements, the program can’t get federal funding.
Gann, having been through government-funded housing programs before where she was forced to live with current drug users, tells The Daily Signal why it took a drug-free environment to get her back on her feet. Watch in the video above.