Mom Buys First Home After Turning Life Around Following Years of Addiction and Imprisonment: 'It Is Amazing'

Dominque Wilson is still getting acclimated to her new home with partner Jared Gibson and their five kids, who range in age from 4 to 11

Dominque Wilson, a Michigan resident who is raising five kids, recently became the owner of her first home at 30. It’s a significant milestone for Wilson, whose life previously centered around drug abuse and imprisonment.

“I had a lot of mental anguish and anger towards the world, and the drugs numbed all that,” Wilson tells PEOPLE about her decade-long dark period.

Wilson found her new home in Breckenridge thanks to the help of local realtor Cody Nevins, who has known her since their high school days. “I can't imagine how good Dominque feels, because I am thrilled for her,” Nevins says.

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Wilson says her problems began with a traumatic incident that occurred when she was in high school. From there, it was a long, hard road that included prison time after she was sentenced in 2016 over home invasion and larceny charges. During her incarceration, she lost physical custody rights of her son from a previous relationship, although she was allowed to see him.

Shortly after her release from prison in 2018, Wilson's fiancé died. She later experienced a relapse and then absconded from parole twice, she says. “I basically went off the deep end,” she shares.

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While on the run, Wilson says she found work at a bar in 2019. "I was two weeks sober, trying to find my footing," she recalls. "And I found out I was pregnant with my daughter [through my second fiancé], so I was like, 'Okay, this has got to stick this time.' "

After a particularly challenging night, she ended up surrendering to authorities. "I just remember being like, ‘I'm ready,' " she says. "That was such a turning point in my recovery."

After serving about a month in jail, Wilson was released and while she was staying at her mother's, her daughter was born in 2020. (The child's father died the following year.)

During her rehabilitation, Wilson leaned on her sober friends for support. “As my mind got clearer and clearer, all the tools I learned from these [rehab] programs came to mind,” she says. ”I started working the 12 steps and really digging into why I even went down that path to begin with. I just kept taking steps in positive directions."

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In 2020, Wilson found employment at a restaurant company where she worked her way up to become a manager. Her progress also resulted in her gaining physical and legal rights to her son, who now lives with her full-time.

When it came time for Wilson to purchase a home, her childhood friend, who just so happened to be a realtor, stepped in.

Although they were friends on Facebook, Nevins had no idea what Wilson had gone through since high school. He just saw that she was in the market to find a home and decided to reach out.

While the process wasn't always easy, Nevins says that "nobody gave up on each other."

"And I think after four or five months it was from the day we stepped into the house to the day we closed," Nevins adds. "We stayed together and we got the job done.”

Wilson also credits her current partner, Jared Gibson, for his role in making her dream of home ownership a reality.

“Jared also went to high school with us,“ Wilson says. “He knew my first fiancé, who had passed away, and he's just so supportive. He is the best partner in the world."

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Although it was a team effort, Nevins says that the credit belongs to Wilson.

“There are times I get so excited that I have to bring myself down from cloud nine and humble myself a little bit,” says Nevins, “Because I need to remind myself: I'm not the one that did it all; she is. She's the one who turned her life around. She's the one who has done everything. I'm just the one who makes the phone calls."

Wilson is still getting acclimated to her new home with Gibson and their five kids, who range in age from 4 to 11.

”It's been about a month now,” she says. “We have to unpack for seven people, so that's quite a bit. But it is amazing going home to a home that's a home, and it's my home, and it's our home. And my kids don't have to worry about anything other than just coming to our home.”

During those moments when she felt hopeless, Wilson came across stories of other people who survived their problems, which gave her the hope to keep going. Now she is paying it forward as she plans to attend school so she can help other people who have struggled with addiction.

"If I could do anything in this world that would make my whole crazy past worth something, it would be to help one person to have that hope and faith to pull through," she says. "Even on their worst day or their good day or whatever it may be. It can happen.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

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