Lezli Martinez overcame a difficult past involving prostitution, drug addiction, and abusive relationships to graduate from college with degrees in psychology and sociology. After hitting rock bottom and losing custody of her children, Martinez got sober and earned an addiction counseling certificate from Trinidad State before transferring to Adams State University. She is now working as an addiction counselor to help others overcome challenges like she did, with a goal of opening a residential treatment center to provide housing and support.

1. Wednesday, July 1, 2015 Valley Courier Page 7
Education
By MARGARET
SANDERSON
ALAMOSA — “At one
time, I dreamed of being a
lawyer,” said 48 year-old
Lezli Martinez.
Instead, after a series of
bad decisions, she spent
decades as a prostitute.
Those days are behind her
now. She graduated on May
8 from Trinidad State with
her CAC 2 (certification in
Addiction Counseling) and
her AAS degree and again
on May 16 from ASU with
bachelor degrees in psychol-
ogy and sociology with an
emphasis in criminology.
Obviously, Martinez is
light years away from the
life she was living just eight
years ago. Her parents had
rescued her many times
through the years only to
have her run off again. Once,
in the 1990s, they were noti-
fied that she was in a coma
in a Denver trauma center.
Her partner had beaten her,
pushed her out of a moving
car, held on and dragged her
half a block and then let go.
The car then ran over her.
She was found on the street
near death.
Later she would say,
“After all that I had been
through, I continued strug-
gling with self-esteem as
well as a drug habit. I did
not have the skills to sup-
port myself or to keep myself
off the streets. I had not only
become addicted to serious
street drugs but to abusive
relationships as well.”
Martinez’ parents had
divorced when she was 8.
While in high school she
gave birth to a baby girl
whom her mother raised.
At 17, rebellious and bel-
ligerent, Martinez ran away
from home. She hated all the
“rules” and wanted a taste
of the fast life. In Denver
she met a good looking guy
who tricked her into prosti-
tution. He called her ‘Star’
and convinced her she was
special. Later, after she was
totally infatuated, he told
her how badly he needed
her help. He introduced
her to prostitution and to
drugs. They would travel the
country stopping at truck
stops, brothels, major strips
- wherever she could turn a
trick. She says she worked
through a pregnancy and
was back on the street three
days after giving birth. Two
months later, while they
were in Miami, that baby
girl died of Sudden Infant
Death Syndrome.
Bad relationships led to
the birth of two sons. One
is now in prison on drug
related charges; Social Ser-
vices took the other at birth
and placed him for adoption.
Her last partner convinced
her she was crazy and her
family didn’t love her. On a
snowy day at the end of their
From prostitution and drug addiction to college graduate
relationship he beat her
and threw her out into the
street. The police found her
bleeding and without shoes
or a coat. When they took
her to the battered women’s
shelter, they asked, “Who
was it this time, Lezli?”
Here, she learned that she
was pregnant once again.
“I was deep into prostitu-
tion. That’s what most of my
record is. I couldn’t stand
myself,” said Martinez who
first came to the Valley in
2011 from Warren Village
in Denver. Warren Village
is a two-year comprehensive
recovery program for single
parents. Because she was a
repeat offender, before War-
ren Village would accept
her, Martinez had to com-
plete rehabilitation with the
Chrysalis Project in Denver
which helps drug-addicted
prostitutes with multiple
arrests. These prostitutes
are facing much longer jail
sentences than those with
one or two offenses. This
was the motivating factor
for Martinez who was deter-
mined that this child would
not be born in jail.
Near the end of her stay at
Warren Village, she and her
son were riding a city bus.
She looked up to see her last
partner moving toward her.
Terrified, Martinez quickly
exited the bus with her son
and was able to immediately
board another. She called
her father, who lives in the
Valley, and said, “I have to
leave now.” He paid for the
U-Haul and with the help of
family members, she loaded
her things and left the next
day.
Martinez and her then
3-year-old son moved in with
her father in June of 2011.
He paid for her summer
semester at Trinidad State.
She decided to study addic-
tions counseling and psy-
chology and began classes
less than two weeks later.
Martinez was motivated
and didn’t want to lose her
momentum. She couldn’t af-
ford therapy and chose this
path to help her understand
herself and to continue
working through her own
issues and to understand
her son, Codey, whom she
is proudly raising herself.
“Trinidad State was like
my family. Everyone em-
braced me. I was so happy
with my newfound freedom
and I was able to grow,”
said Martinez, who will
begin work on her master’s
degree in clinical counseling
and social work this August.
For her doctorate she plans
to study forensic psychology
and law which will place
her in a position to address
mental health policies.
Her dream today is to first
establish a residential treat-
ment center in the San Luis
Valley where those with
substance abuse problems
can get treatment for their
addictions and follow that
with transitional housing.
“The way to win at pov-
erty, addictions or domestic
violence is to teach a per-
son self-sufficiency,” said
Martinez. “That is the part
that’s broken. Living and
coping skills are needed.
Broken people need some-
one to hold their hand and
reassure them they are not
alone. They need to learn
to recognize that they don’t
deserve to be treated badly.
I’m still in my infancy in
regard to breaking free from
the addictions that had such
a grip on my life.”
According to Martinez
90 percent of women who
are overweight have been
molested and 98 percent of
women in prison have been
molested.
“Healing is not about
pointing fingers at others,”
said Martinez. “It’s about
working within yourself.”
She continued, “Forgive-
ness is necessary for heal-
ing. It is not for the person
you are forgiving. It’s for
you. You can’t go forward
if you’re in reverse, if you’re
operating in the past.”
Two days after graduation
Martinez was approached
by a mentor who encour-
aged and guided her while
she studied at ASU. Sandra
Goodwin knew Martinez
well and felt that she would
be a good fit at Ascension
Counseling and Transfor-
mation where Goodwin is
co-partner with Psycho-
therapist Creed B. de Avan-
zar. She said to Martinez,
“I’ve been waiting for you to
graduate and I want you to
come to work for me.”
Martinez had been con-
cerned about how her back-
ground might affect her
ability to get a job, but de
Avanzar said, “If I have
staff on, they have to have
had a sh___y background.
They have to have worked
through their stuff and be-
lieve in themselves. That’s
how you teach someone else
to believe in themselves.”
Danny Fox, co-pastor of
Rolling Church Ministries,
who is associated with the
counseling center, said, “Le-
zli has chosen to stop being
a victim. She has crossed
over into survivorship and
in to owning her own life.
She has also realized her
self-worth.”
“I was terribly broken,”
said Martinez. “Adversity
is what brings you to where
you are. It builds you and
molds you and makes you
strong. Without all of that
s___, I wouldn’t be where
I am now. My legacy is to
everybody I touch. If you
don’t come away from me
feeling better, I haven’t done
my mission.”
Although divorced for many years, Lezli’s parents have stood by her through thick and
thin. They are so very proud of what she has accomplished. Her mother never stopped
praying for her.
Courtesy photo
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