“THE Drug Court program gave me an opportunity to turn myself around,” Xylene Palacios said in an interview with KKMP radio host Gary Sword on Tuesday.
“I could also not have not done it without the support of my family,” she added.
Palacios, 35 and a mother of three, is volunteering with the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs – Division of Youth Services as part of the Drug Court recovery program.
“I am a person in recovery,” she said. “I am a Drug Court participant for two years now. The Drug Court gave me an opportunity to have a second chance in life.”
She said she is volunteering at DYS “because they provide services to family, youth, and children.”
According to Palacios, she was in and out of jail during her drug addiction. “My times in jail made me think a lot about my life, my kids. I don’t see myself in prison for 5-10 years for drug trafficking…I don’t want to take my freedom for granted, and I thought a lot of my children. It was a wake-up call.”
Palacios said she has been sober for a year now, “but at the beginning it was a struggle — I tested positive for use of meth nine times after random tests.”
“During my addiction,” she added, “I would give my children anything they wanted while on the side I was busy with my next fix. That time, I chose the easy way by selling drugs.”
It is unsafe for children to have parents who are doing drugs, Palacios said
Asked whether her previous actions made her a bad person, she replied: “I would say I am not a bad person — but I made bad choices. I went through a lot, and lost a lot too along the way.”
DYS Administrator Vivian Sablan said Palacios has spent hours with youth groups, parent groups, and DYS staffers in motivational group sessions.
“She has shared her life experiences, obstacles, and challenges. And how she overcame those challenges with the support of her family,” Sablan said.
“Now that I am sober,” Palacios said, “a lot good things are coming my way. A lot of good things are happening. I don’t want to jeopardize all the good things that are going right now.”
“I love my children so much,” she added. “Family time is what I crave now. If my kids are happy, I am happier.”
