Tina Whitmore and her 11-year-old daughter, Emily, sat in Nice Nails on Jesse James Road in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, awaiting an appointment to fix a broken nail. Tina, a mother of six recovering from addiction and struggling with housing instability, had recently spent $60.00 to get Emily’s nails done, a significant sum, but she wanted to treat her.

Tina knows her daughter wants all the time and attention she can give her. In and out of prison for crimes stemming from her addiction, she has missed important moments over the years. Whitmore, a month and a half sober, is not only trying to rebuild her own life with her family and boyfriend – but also make up for lost time with her youngest.

“Sorry doesn’t matter unless you fix the problem,” she said while driving to court for a probation violation hearing. “I’m reclaiming my spot as her mom.”