One graduate of Adult and Teen Challenge of Central Canada is excited to be gifted her very first car thanks to her hard work and dedication. "I am 30 years old and I had been struggling with addiction for probably 15 years," says Christelle. "I tried many times to get sober. I went to treatment for the first time when I was 19. I went a total of seven times to inpatient treatment. I always found myself relapsing." Over the course of Christelle's 20s, she had encounters with her faith and God. "I was going to 12-step meetings, and they always talked about a higher power. Slowly, that started to shift for me, where I started going to church when I would be sober. I did try praying, but I didn't have a relationship with Jesus until I got here to Teen Challenge. Right before I got here, I was broken and feeling completely hopeless." .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Although the long-term commitment of the Adult and Teen Challenge program was intimidating to Christelle, she didn't want to die from an overdose. She made the decision to try it. "It was unlike anything I had experienced before and any of the other treatment centres. As soon as I walked in here, I felt the love and unconditional acceptance of the women who worked here. I had alienated most of the people from my life, so to come here, to have people accept me and love me with no strings attached, and then getting to lean into the Lord, that really changed everything for me. I can't speak highly enough about this program. I feel like I'm a completely different person." Rising to the Challenge Christelle has completed the long-term program through ATC in Thunder Bay, ON. "I was told when I first came into the program that, if you memorize Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, and you're able to recite it with no pauses or referring to the Bible in between, then you'll get a car." ATC runs a few different programs to help their students work while they're in recovery. One of those programs is their vehicle donation program. "They fixed up the car for me and everything. It's my first car as I've never had a car before. I'm from Toronto, so it didn't make sense to buy one, and it was never something I could afford." Christelle made a study plan and found the time to work on memorizing the 176 verses, which took her eight months. She recited it for ATC staff and was granted a free car. "It's a game-changer. It's a red Pontiac Vibe, and it's a dream. I wanted to be able to help others get around as well, because for my whole life, I've relied on other people. It's nice to get around to church or do errands and bring other people along for the ride. I might go visit my family and do a little road trip." Christelle was invited to continue with ATC after she graduated, and she is now in the ATC SURGE leadership program.