Woman opens home to help recovering heroin addicts

At first glance, you'd never know the pain and darkness Amber Gordon once lived in. 

"I've died a few times, I've overdosed, and I've experienced jails and institutions," she said. 

For 20 years Gordon battled addictions. 

She hit rock bottom when introduced to heroin. 

"It took me to a really dark place. It brought me to homelessness and prostitution," she said. 

With the help of Prodigal Daughters and its founder Denise Gattuso, her life changed for the better. 

"She walks alongside you and guides you down this path to freedom," Gordon said. 

Unlike other programs, women can move in with their children.
 
Instead of having to find work, they focus on their health, faith, and healing. 

"It's a love of the family that, for one, I never got. They don't judge you here. They walk along side you and kind of meet you right exactly where you are at," said Gordon. 

While a crackdown on dealers and traffickers has started to reduce overdose numbers in Manatee and Sarasota counties, Gattuso continues to see a need that's greater than ever. 

"These are all applications for people wanting to get in," said Gattuso. 

Denise Gattuso's home can accommodate seven women and their children. 

That's a small number compared to the 50 plus applications she has waiting. 

"They're still calling. Every day there are maybe four or five phone calls for people to get in here," she said. 

Now shes on a hunt to find a bigger home to continue her work. 

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office donated $5,000 towards her cause. 

"It breaks my heart that I can't help these women because I don't have the facility or the means to do it right now," said Gattuso. 

It's a calling that's greater than most and one she'll never stop. 

"Whatever we need to do, we fight for these women because we believe in them and we believe their life can be productive and they can be a productive citizen if they can get that help they need," said Gattuso. 

For more information on Prodigal Daughters recover home visit: https://www.prodigaldaughters.net/