“I didn’t think I could do it on my own. Now I’m learning I can.”
When her 18-year relationship ended, Kristin’s family was torn apart. For the first time, she began caring for her kids by herself. “I was codependent, always needing someone to help me,” she says. “I didn’t think I could do it on my own.”
Her separation brought up lingering hurts from her childhood, bouncing between her parents in Chicago and La Quinta and feeling lonely instead of loved by friends and family.
“I was hurting inside for a while,” Kristin says. “I just don’t think I realized it.”
To numb her pain, she turned to drugs and alcohol. And soon, she says, “We were homeless. My four kids were sleeping on couches, and I could see they were suffering. I couldn’t live like that anymore.”
Kristin came to the Mission with her youngest – and says from the moment she stepped inside, she felt tremendous joy. The family rooms at our shelter made it possible for her three other children to soon join her.
“I came here broken… I was really lost and confused. And my connection with God was also broken,” Kristin says. Through daily chapel services and Bible study, she’s been learning to walk with the Lord.
“God’s always there… if you ask Him for what you need, He’ll always provide.”
Today, Kristin feels prepared to care for her family on her own. She’s happily searching for a place to call home, and she plans to go to cosmetology school and get her real estate license. “I’m learning that I can do it, thanks to the Mission. They’ve given me a lot of strength.”
This Easter, Kristin and her kids will be celebrating the beautiful new beginning in their lives – made possible by your generous support. “The Mission has done so much for us. They have open arms, and they’re willing to help. I’m really glad I came because it’s changed my life.”
To read our Easter 2019 issue of A New Dawn, click here.
Help other people like Kristin…
Kristin’s story of hope and healing is inspiring. Our New Life Programs exist to help other men and women in the Coachella Valley find healing. Will you help provide this help to others?
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