Terry Garrett
Terry Garrett was born and raised in Northern Virginia. Both of her parents were alcoholics, and she was introduced to drug and alcohol use at an early age. It was after she experienced sexual abuse at age 8 that she began to turn to drugs and alcohol to escape from her life. During the next 25 years she was in and out of jail for crimes such as shoplifting and drug distribution. After spending most of her life running away, she stopped running at when she came to the Friends of Guest House in 2007. At the Guest House, Terry sought out therapy and medication for mental health problems, received medical care, and reunited with her children and family. Today she has her own apartment, pays her own bills, is in the process of getting her G.E.D, actively advocates for the restoration of ex-offenders’ voting rights and against domestic violence, and tells her story as part of the Guest House Speakers Bureau. Each day, she takes on new challenges and continues to move forward.
