BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — As many people know, a life with addiction is a hard one to let go, and one of the things that often comes with addiction is engaging in the kinds of activities that give someone a criminal record or land them in jail. That's a reality for many women in Kern County, but one organization, Minnie Marvel's, is working to make sure they have another chance.
Getting women whose lives have been impacted by addiction reintegrated into society is the goal of Minnie Marvel's Sober Living. Owner and CEO Janice "Jasmine" Marvel knows what it's like to be addicted to drugs, and the need of those struggling with addictions to have people who will never give up on them.
Now, with funding approved earlier this month by the Board of Supervisors, Minnie Marvel's is helping AB 109 clients to be rehabilitated.
"They never gave upon me, and I'll never give up on these girls," said Marvel.
Giving women another chance to get clean, and for some, getting their children back into their lives, is what Minnie Marvel's is doing for women across the country.
"I'm in recovery myself," says Marvel. "My clean dade is 2/6 of 98. I have 24 and a half years clean. I've been where these women have been. I'm an ex-heroin addict. Changed my life completely."
Marvel founded the program back in 2011 because she knows what many of these women are going through. Women like Monica Moreno, an AB 109 client of Minnie Marvel's.
"I winded up backsliding into drugs, and they opened the door for me," said Moreno.
Moreno has been down this road before. She is back in the program under AB 109 funding after having fallen back into old habits.
"I was already on probation and what happened was that I relapsed, and I just came back. Before, it was… I guess I was so into the addiction that I started hallucinating and vandalizing things," said Moreno. "It was really mental."
With help from Minnie Marvel's, however, Moreno says she's back on track.
"I've actually fixed my license, I've gotten my Social Security card, I've applied for the drug and alcohol program at CSUB, and like I said, on the 7th of December, they notified me that I was accepted into the program," Moreno said.
Moreno is not alone. Samantha Riley graduated from the program in 2018 after dealing with substance abuse issues.
"I started really young. I started doing drugs at 9 years old. I was constantly in and out of prison, in and out of Juvenile Hall," said Riley. "I was just kind of a product of my environment."
Riley says it wasn't until she hit her rock bottom and wanted her family back in her life that she found the ling on the other side through the organization.
"I'm a manager at a store, and I've got custody of my niece, and I got my children back in my life, and that's the biggest one right there," said Riley.
Jerrilee Hickman is another woman dealing with the fallout from addiction, including a stint in jail.
"My whole criminal history was violence, and this last time was assault with a deadly weapon with a vehicle, and my husband and I were trying to rebuild our lives, and I was just done," said Hickman.
With the help of the program and Janice Marvel, Hickman feels like she's getting the support she needs to make the most of this second chance.
"Part of the problem when you first get out of jail is not knowing where to go to get things done, and she was a great help just guiding me in the right place, her and her staff, and girls that had been here before me," said Hickman. "It's just a great support system."
One of those former clients who is now part of the team at Minnie Marvel's is Cecilia Juarez.
"I've learned a lot of responsibility," said Juarez. "I've learned to live every day, like, a normal life. Waking up, having a routine, getting my kids ready. Just things I didn't do in my addiction."
Juarez adds that Minnie Marvel's was one of the last places she could turn to, and they were there when she needed them most.
"It just makes my heart melt. It's the last place I could go to. I had burned all my bridges and this was the last place I had to go to," said Juarez, noting how quickly Minnie Marvel's helped her achieve so much.
One of the ways the program helps women learn the kind of responsibility that Juarez finds makes her life feel normal is through a puppy fostering partnership with Marley's Mutts.
"I firmly believe that working with Marley's Mutts, it teaches the girls responsibility, empathy, compassion," said Marvel. "And they get a certificate at the end of their stay here."
Ultimately for Marvel, the mission of rehabilitation is personal.
"This isn't a job to me," said Marvel. "This is a life-long journey. I do this because I love helping women and children."
The funding for the AB 109 rehabilitation program lasts through December of 2025. The board also approved funding for male AB 109 clients with New Life Recovery and Training Center.
Other sober living facilities in Kern County serving AB 109 clients:
Bakersfield Recovery Services, Inc. (Jason's Retreat and Capistrano Community for Women)
