ROCHESTER, N.Y. —  Addiction is an issue that communities across the nation are dealing with. As more people fall victim to it, the need for continued support and effective treatment becomes increasingly apparent.

Stephanie Forrester grew up in Fairport. Adopted and yearning for acceptance, she found herself entangled in the dark world of drugs and the desperate choices it led to.

"My mom passed away and left a bag full of pills from her cancer, and I kind of used them to self-medicate; before I knew it, I had a needle in my arm," said Forrester.

Her quest for belonging spiraled into a haze of substance abuse. Cocaine, heroin and Xanax eventually pushed her toward the harsh reality of sex work. 

"You will literally do anything for this drug. Someone yelled to me and was like, 'hey, you know, I got this for this,' and I was like, 'all right.' That was it. That was the beginning of this cycle," Forrester added.

It was a cycle that led to Stephanie fighting the darkness of addiction for years and losing her firstborn child Abigail in 2001.

"The grief of losing a child is something that no one should ever have to go through," Forrester said.

After facing more loss, homelessness and multiple rehab visits, Stephanie found hope in an alleyway.

"I went to the back and sat on that little stoop and I used my drugs for the last time. I decided I was worth it," she said.

Next to a former church, now the home of her nonprofit organization Recovery All Ways, the alleyway where Stephanie found hope has become a symbol of her transformation and mission to help others break the grip of addiction.

"We have sharp containers, Narcan, everything harm reduction. We serve about 200 people every Sunday. We set up a lunch table right here, and we give out bagged lunches and hygiene kits," Forrester said.

The organization alongside the New York Recovery Alliance believes there are multiple pathways to recovery, but not everyone they serve recovers.

"This is a lot of friends and family," Forrester said. "People think they are statistics and they are not; we love them."

Stephanie believes that love, not judgment, is the most effective way to support those struggling.

"I get to be out here and love on them because they often feel invisible and unheard and unseen," Forrester added.

Forrester has been living an addiction-free life for eight years with her two children. What keeps her going, she said, are the people who look to her for their survival. She hopes to share her story with as many people as possible.