Home, it's a word that would warm my heart at the thought, yet send chills through my body in reality. I was pregnant, and homeless. When I went to the hospital to have my child, we had great care and I wondered, how was I going to leave knowing we had nowhere to go. If I opened my mouth and told the doctors, I feared they would take my child away. What was I going to do. I spent the next few months couch surfing with my newborn wherever someone would have me. Yet I grew in fear as I thought about the reality of one day not having a place for me and my child to go. We needed a home.
Leading up to my circumstances of having a child was a roller coaster life. I was in and out of the foster care system. The moment you set your feet down, it was time once again to get your trash bag of clothes packed again to relocate. I would move back home for a short stint, only to be removed from my parents care again. My life lacked stability, it lacked hope, it lacked the warmth of having a home.
My life now however is different, I have found my home. One day while couch surfing at a friends house, her mother shared with us, about a place she had just heard about called Acres of Hope. She told us they gave women and children who were homeless a place to live for up to two years, while they fight to renew their lives, and become strong families. I checked out their information online and I was amazed, they helped women clear records, gain employment, reunify with children taken into the foster care system, gain mentors and all the tools they need to be able to step out on their own. This excited me, I could feel the rise of hope in my core. I looked at my child that evening and decided to fill out the application.
A couple weeks later after the interview process, I found out I was accepted to move onto campus. When I arrived I was given a key, and I heard the worker say, "This is the key to your home." I felt the water form in my eyes. As I held my baby tucked in my arms and slowly began to walk toward my cottage, I knew something had changed. I unlocked the door, and it was beautiful. There were quotes on the walls, the cottage had a crib and new baby toys. There was a bed for me, I no longer had to sleep on the couch, or floor. There were books, and all that we would need. I sat on the bed with my baby and I cried, I whispered in his ear, "We are home". His gentle coo warmed my heart, as if he knew we had found our place.
My child has been growing so much, into a healthy beautiful little boy, and my life has been transforming. Acres of Hope took care of the physical needs, and has really dug deep beneath the surface of layers of my past, my pain, and helped me and my child have a renewed life for our present and future. We have a home, and a life of Hope.
Today you can be a part of helping more families have a home of their own.
Visit: acresofhopeonline.org or Call 530-878-8030