Launched THURSDAY April 11, 2019 on www.zReportage.com Story #699: Road to Recovery.Kim Woods is a survivor and dedicated mom who overcomes daily struggles to be the best version of herself for her children. ''Before my dad took those kids in I would go over and babysit them. When they would come home that's how I started drinking. I would drink with them. I guess they thought it was funny when they saw this little girl drinking,'' Woods says recalling the first time she drank and was abused. Woods has struggled with addiction to meth and alcohol since she was a young girl. Woods and her husband have both spent time in jail and have not had a consistent permanent address. She has been clean for a few years now and leans on her counselors at Pathways treatment center and Parole Officer who continue to motivate her. In the United States alcohol kills more people each year than overdoses, from cancer, to liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis and suicide. From 2007 to 2017, the number of deaths attributable to alcohol increased 35 percent, according to a new analysis by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. The death rate rose 24 percent. One alarming statistic is deaths among women rose 85 percent.
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Sep 27, 2017 - Eldon, Missouri, U.S. - KIM WOODS is a survivor and dedicated mom who overcomes daily struggles to be the best version of herself for her children. ''Before my dad took those kids in I would go over and babysit them. When they would come home that's how I started drinking. I would drink with them. I guess they thought it was funny when they saw this little girl drinking,'' Woods says recalling the first time she drank and was abused. Woods has struggled with addiction to meth and alcohol since she was a young girl. She has been clean for a few years and leans on her counselors at Pathways treatment center and Parole Officer who continue to motivate her.
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Sep 26, 2017 - Eldon, Missouri, U.S. - KIM WOODS vacuums the room she is staying in with her husband. They have both spent time in jail and have not had a consistent permanent address. The couple lived for several months with her son Dawson in room 126 in the Eldon Inn where Woods works. Woods has spent 22 years throughout the area working as a housekeeper.
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Sep 26, 2017 - Eldon, Missouri, U.S. - KIM WOODS takes her son DAWSON to get a new scooter after his old one broke the day before.
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Sep 26, 2017 - Eldon, Missouri, U.S. - KIM WOODS makes a list of groceries for dinner while she waits for her son DAWSON to get changed after school.
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Sep 27, 2017 - Eldon, Missouri, U.S. - Everyday after work KIM WOODS treats herself and her kids to soda from the gas station. Amidst the chaos, she finds relief in these moments throughout the day.
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Sep 25, 2017 - Eldon, Missouri, U.S. - KIM WOODS tries to fix DAWSON'S scooter after he broke it playing. He struggles with anger management issues and often ends up in temper tantrums. Woods worries about his behavior living in his chaotic living environment. ''I want to always do something for him,'' she says.
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Sep 28, 2017 - Eldon, Missouri, U.S. - As the only housekeeper at the Eldon Inn, KIM WOODS cleans 29 rooms everyday seven days a week.
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Sep 27, 2017 - Eldon, Missouri, U.S. - KIM WOODS comforts her son DAWSON after he hurt himself playing. Woods has been diagnosed with PTSD from surviving abuse and the death of her daughter. With a hectic schedule filled with anxiety and depression, Woods finds peace in the quiet moments with Dawson. She hopes to move out and get their own place in the near future.
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Sep 27, 2017 - Eldon, Missouri, U.S. - DAWSON WOODS plays on his new scooter in his new boots before school.
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Sep 27, 2017 - Eldon, Missouri, U.S. - KIM WOODS lost a daughter 17 years ago. ''I had to shut my grieving heart off,'' said Woods recalling the period of her life after the loss of her two-month old daughter, Kyliee. On September 27, 2000 Kyliee died from bronchitis and pneumonia.
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Sep 26, 2017 - Eldon, Missouri, U.S. - KIM WOODS holds her granddaughter PAISLIEE while helping DAWSON (L) put on his costume after school. Woods and Dawson moved in with MCKAYLA (R) after Wood's husband, Stanley, was recently arrested.
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Sep 27, 2017 - Eldon, Missouri, U.S. - The family visits Kyliee's grave on the anniversary of her death in Eugene, MO. They come every year on this day to decorate the grave and recall her spirit.
© Allison Zaucha/ZUMA Wire
