As part of the annual Press Christmas for All campaign, we share with readers the stories of those who have received help from the program. This is one of them. 

For years, while she was in the throes of addiction to alcohol, Sunnie Helling and her daughters lived with whoever would take them in. 

That changed after she entered the women’s recovery program at the Union Gospel Mission.

“I didn’t think I would be here a few years ago,” said Helling, 37, of Coeur d’Alene. “It wasn’t easy. Ten years of being an addict isn’t going to change overnight. I wake up grateful to be alive every day. I wake up happy to have my girls. Even the days when we struggle are way better now.”

While in the program at UGM, she worked to transform her life beyond recovering from addiction. She decided to earn her GED and even trained for a half marathon. Since completing the program, she and her daughters have moved into an apartment of their own. 

“I was loved back to life,” she said. 

Sober for almost four years, Helling works part-time at the Adult Education Center at NIC while studying full time. She’ll graduate with an associate degree in the spring — walking alongside her 17-year-old daughter, who is dual enrolled at NIC — and plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree at Lewis-Clark State College. 

Helling said she loves her job at NIC, especially working with GED seekers. 

“A lot of people there are going through the same situation as I did,” she said. “They think they can’t do it because they couldn’t do high school. I love being able to tell my story.” 

Last year, when Helling’s vehicle needed repairs she couldn’t afford, UGM referred her to Charity Reimagined and Christmas for All for possible assistance. 

The vehicle turned out to be beyond repair, but Christmas for All was still able to help, providing Helling with gift cards to purchase clothing and food for her children and enable her to put her money toward a car instead. The food cards in particular helped Helling fill a gap in her income when NIC was closed for winter break and she wasn’t working. 

“It made a huge difference,” she said. “It takes that pressure off.” 

To make her new life a reality, Helling said she changed her way of looking at the world and focused on gratitude. 

“I had to change my perspective,” she said. “I do this thing every day in the morning where I say, ‘I’m so grateful I have hot water,’ because I haven’t always had hot water. ‘I’m so grateful I get to have a cup of coffee in the morning and I have this amazing job.’ It’s OK to work for things you don’t have, but take a moment to appreciate what you have. Somebody else out there would love to be in your shoes.”