"By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days." Hebrews 11:30
"I will build this wall around me, and those who have hurt me in the past will not be able to hurt me again. I won't let anyone close enough to be able to make me feel vulnerable. I will scream and rage, I will keep a scowl upon my face, no one will approach me, no one will hurt me. I will run from anything that threatens, I will sabotage anything that brings to much attention, or anything that could potentially make me feel loss. I will build up my wall and I will be untouchable." a past view of an Acres of Hope Woman
The women and children that have come to Acres of Hope to break the cycle of homelessness have had many experiences of trauma in their lives. They have learned to adapt to pain and loss by building walls around themselves to keep safe from anything that could bring more harm to their lives. At Acres of Hope we see the effects of abuse, addiction, loss, and shame. We face the walls that have been built to protect those placed in our care. The child who hides behind a chair to be unseen. The mother who desires to know pure love, but fears losing it so rejects it to protect her heart. A moment of victory met with an attempt of sabotage, to prevent disappointment. All of these are bricks added to a wall built up to protect a mother or her child from future harm. Yet at Acres of Hope families are loved and supported in a way that pulls a woman and child out from behind the wall.
The moment a child experiences stability and realizes their home will last more than a month is precious. They know their cottage will be there while his or her family gets their life together. The moment a mother breathes in deep the fact that her kids are in a safe environment and have support. The day when a family is finally able to confront the truth of their identities and worth over the lies they have seen and heard. Everyday beyond the fear, beyond the rage, beyond the tears, we see Acres of Hope families stepping out from behind the old walls, and patterns they built for themselves to help them survive the world of trauma. Each day the more that staff, volunteers, and a community of wonderful people like you step in and say "we are here" to help you climb out from behind the walls of trauma into a life of Hope, the more families will continue to break the cycle of homelessness.
You can help us bring women and children out from behind the walls of trauma and homelessness.
Learn more today about how you can be a part of breaking the cycles of trauma and homelessness for the women and children of Acres of Hope.
Call 530-878-8030 or Visit: acresofhopeonline.org
Be sure to read next article in Stories of Hope in the Acres series called, "Sledgehammer"