Recovering Addict and Mother Finds ‘A Community of Friends’

When Sherry Banks found herself homeless and sleeping near the corner of Alondra and Long Beach boulevards in Compton, she knew she had hit rock bottom.

The year was 1991 and Banks was a cocaine addict. A native of Wichita, Kan., Banks had moved to Los Angeles 10 years earlier to start a new life after a divorce. The cost of living in L.A. was so high, she had to work several jobs and live with relatives to make ends meet. To help relieve stress, she started experimenting with marijuana, then progressed to cocaine. While addicted, she gave birth to Phaedra, who was born with crippling seizures caused by brain damage. She couldn’t take care of her daughter and lost custody.

Banks went through the same destructive cycle over and over: she roamed the streets, took drugs, went to rehab, got visitation rights to Phaedra, then returned to the streets again. But reality hit that fateful day on that street corner. “I never thought that could happen to me,’’ Banks said. “I finally got tired of the whole routine.’’

She sought help from a social service agency serving south Los Angeles, entered a transition home and completed a substance abuse treatment program. She then was referred to A Community of Friends, a nonprofit that develops affordable housing.

Today Banks, 50, is drug-free and a proud single mother of three living in her dream apartment. She and her children, Phaedra, 21, Edward, 16 and Kourtney, 11, live in a four-bedroom apartment located just west of downtown that has a monthly rent of $340. When they moved in eight years ago, A Community of Friends provided them with basic necessities, such as furniture, plates, utensils, clothing, food, a caring community and perhaps most importantly, a safe and stable environment that enabled her to stand on her own two feet again.

The family participates in a wide range of activities offered by A Community of Friends. Banks joined a recovery class that covers such topics as how to stay sober, nutrition, relationship-building and parenting. She learned to bake at home rather than eat fast food, she said. Kourtney and Edward, who she said are excelling in school, take visual arts and music classes, sports, computer training workshops and camps. Kourtney plays the violin and guitar, while Edward’s passion is photography – as evidenced by artistic photos hanging on his room’s wall. “I want my children to go in the right direction,’’ Banks said. “I’m happy that they get to do so many things that I wouldn’t be able to provide on my own.’’

She volunteers frequently at her children’s schools and attends monthly resident meetings, financial management workshops, cooking classes and health workshops. She also takes the garbage out for her building. “As a recovering addict, the best way to stay clean is to keep busy,’’ Banks said. “There’s always something to do.’’

Banks, who has been sober for 16 years, would like to help others struggling with drug addiction. “I may be able to help, especially if someone is in my shoes,’’ she said. “It was tough out there and I had some scary moments.” What would she say to a group of drug addicts trying to knock the habit? “You can get out of it but you have to be ready because it is very hard … once you let go, you’ll feel better than you’ve ever felt.”

When she recalls the life she once led, Banks realizes how far she’s come. She has a roof over her head, is healthy and has big hopes for her children, at least one of whom may well be on his way to Morehouse College. She finally has time to care for herself. Said Banks: “I want to see my children go to college and I want to buy a house and save for a van someday. Life doesn’t stop.”

A Community of Friends
$150,000
Two-year core operating support

View other stories in Solutions, the foundation's latest journal.

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