From addiction to empowerment: Amber’s path to healing and helping others
Amber Sloboda is an administrative assistant at the Office of Forensic Mental Health Services within DSHS’ Behavioral Health and Habilitation Administration. Her journey is one of transformation, as she moved from addiction to a life filled with empowerment and purpose.
When Sloboda looks at her 13-year-old daughter, it brings back memories of herself at that age. But Amber can’t imagine Emma going through what she did at that age. That was when Sloboda started using drugs and drinking alcohol. For 10 years, she continued using “everything, anything, that could change how I felt.”
After years of inpatient and outpatient treatment and trying to find a different way to live, Sloboda stumbled upon her ex-mother-in-law’s cosmetology book. It was an “aha moment,” a sign. Sloboda believes that coming across this book was her higher power, giving direction and steering her away from the road she was on, which could only lead to jail, institutions, or death.
“There’s something bigger than me out there and looking out for me. I was going through life not knowing what I was supposed to do, and here it was presented to me in a random way,” she said.
Getting clean “was definitely a journey.” It included court dates, during which a judge, witnessing Sloboda’s changes, allowed her to wear an ankle monitoring bracelet while attending beauty school instead of serving time incarcerated.
Today, Sloboda draws on her lived experiences as she assigns competency evaluations to forensic evaluators, works with the unit scheduler to set up evaluations with defense attorneys, and completes all other duties and responsibilities assigned to her or needing her attention in the office.
“I live a life of recovery and a 12-step program, and a close friend and another person in recovery recommended this job. It is a good testimony of the change that can happen to people. The work we do here is really important. Mental health is really important,” she said.
Looking back, Sloboda acknowledges the road of addiction she traveled “shaped who I am today. The people we see on the streets and who are addicted are not who they truly are. I do a lot of internal work because I am living the life I never expected to live. It’s an amazing thing when a person with a substance use disorder comes from addiction to recovery. It’s powerful stuff. I pray for the still suffering addict,” she said.
The multi-tasker and problem solver’s long-term goal is to become a project manager because she likes figuring out new ways to make things run better and work better. Even as Sloboda looks to further her career at DSHS, she will continue her hair styling business on the side, an interest that was one of the catalysts that helped her move from addiction to recovery.
“I love everything about doing hair. I love color and cutting. I look at beauty in others, but not in a judgmental way, and always look at hair and eyebrows. I’ve gained a clientele that is like family. It’s nice because it is not like a job to me. I just enjoy the time I have with the clients.”
Story written by PJ Angelini, DSHS Behavioral Health and Habilitation Administration Communications and Outreach Administrator
