Last night I met 10 amazing women.

I met 10 women who were so filled with positive energy.  I met 10 women who understood their self worth. I met 10 women who were excited for their futures.

Had I met these 10 women a few months ago, even a few weeks ago, I would have been meeting entirely different women.

One of these women will be getting her one year chip tomorrow, representing 365 days of rebelling against her addictions and moving towards a future.  The other nine also had varying lengths of sobriety from a few weeks to nearly a year in a half.

For any addict, that’s an amazing achievement.

For these 10, it means seeing their kids again.  It means repairing relationships.  It means going back to school, getting jobs.  It means a life on the other side of the bars.

The statistics on replaces are horrifying.  As many as 90 percent of addicts will relapse. I feel certain the 10 women in that room last night will beat those statistics.

That’s thanks to Angela House.

These 10 women were residents of a very special place in Houston.  Angela House is a transitional home for women who have just been released from Texas jails or prisons. Everyone at Angela House is there voluntarily.  As a matter of fact, there’s a waiting list to get in.

The reasons are obvious. The Angela House women referred to one another as their “sisters,” forming a strong community where they pick each other up, give each other hope and keep each other on the right path.  They have guidance from professional therapists. They learn job skills, get help with their resumes and acquire any other necessary life skills to ensure they never return.

Still, some will.  But the statistics will be much lower than elsewhere in society.

Each of these women are criminals, according to the State of Texas.  For some, drug offenses WERE the crime.  For others, their addictions eventually led them to commit other crimes. But each of these women has paid their dues and deserves that second chance.

The stories were heart breaking, but all too typical. There were stories of sexual, physical and mental abuse.  There were women who are only now – with the help of therapy – understanding just how beautiful they are. They spent years being beaten down by men who told them they were worthless.  At Angela House, they are beginning to understand their true value.

Like so many others, addiction has touched my life in a very personal way.  I watched a longtime friend spiral downward due to a combination of mental disease and addiction.  Because her drug of choice was alcohol instead of crack or heroin, it was socially acceptable and easily obtained. As is often typical of alcoholics, she hid the addiction well and most of her friends and family had no idea the extent until it had grabbed her in a stronghold and dragged her down.

Despite an arrest for DWI, there was no time served.  But she found herself unable to work and lost her job.  She was unable to pay her mortgage and lost her house.  She was unable to care for a child and – for awhile – lost her beautiful daughter.

Last night had me desperately wishing she’d served time and had been released into a place like Angela House.  I wish she’d found her community of support and love, friends who were battling the same demons.  I wish she’d found these 10 women to pick her up and a tell her how beautiful she was. I wish she’d known how much she was loved and what an asset she was to the world.

My friend’s story didn’t have a happy ending. We buried her a little more than a year ago.

I got a chance to talk about her last night and as many of the women looked me in the eye, their feelings were etched so clearly on their faces.  Many will get to spend Mother’s Day tomorrow with their own children, or with their mothers.  My friend’s daughter – who I now consider my own – will not be so lucky.

These women are so lucky to have found Angela House, but nothing else has been about luck.  It’s been about hard work. It’s been about strong desire and it’s been about their faith.

To learn more about Angela House, visit http://angelahouse.com.