Addiction and Intimate Partner Violence

In this gripping episode, host Chad LaComb sits down with Rachel Tucker, a powerhouse with 27 years in ministry and the director of Cherish Young Moms in Fontana. Rachel shares her profound insights from decades of working with juvenile offenders and pregnant teens as young as 13, revealing the devastating intersection of addiction, intimate partner violence (IPV), and sexual abuse. She paints a stark picture: 40-60% of IPV cases involve substances, with abusers using violence to seize control—tactics that work, making the cycle brutally hard to break. Even more chilling? In 60-70% of intimate partner homicides, drugs or alcohol fuel the tragedy, often alongside mental health struggles like depression.

But Rachel’s story doesn’t end in despair. At Cherish, she’s spent 13 years pouring into young moms facing unplanned pregnancies, often abandoned by partners lost to addiction or lured into selling drugs to support a child. She’s seen it all: generational addiction, sexual violence (100% of the truly addicted women she’s worked with have endured sexual abuse), and the heartbreaking reality of trading sexual favors for drugs. Yet, through faith and a vision for generational change, Rachel and her team transform lives. “God picks the most unlikely candidates to spark change,” she says, and Cherish proves it, offering these young women a lifeline beyond the failures of foster care. Her advice to shift the dynamic with an abuser? “Say, ‘I’m concerned for you.’ It can change everything.”

This episode is a must-hear for anyone touched by addiction, abuse, or the struggles of young parenthood. We’ve just wrapped recording, and Falling to Freedom will soon hit Spotify, YouTube, and all major platforms, stay tuned!

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#addictionrecovery #intimatepartnerviolence #cherishyoungmoms #generationalchange #sexualabuseawareness