Thanksgiving doesn’t mean much when your daddy is a mean, abusive alcoholic. He often disappeared for weeks at a time, leaving us without any money or food. We were so poor, all our clothes were second-hand rags. So at school, all the other kids noticed, and I was bullied mercilessly. Rejected at home, rejected at school, I felt worthless. As I got older, I turned to alcohol myself… Read More »
Meet Margaret, a special member of our staff whose life experience has given her a huge heart of compassion for women devastated by homelessness. See how God is using her to care for precious women on Skid Row.
When I was 8, an older boy offered me $20 and took advantage of me. I felt so ashamed, I was afraid to tell anyone. But my shame quickly evolved into rage and hate—and from childhood on, I took it out on the world.
By my early 20s, I was so angry, mean, and fearless, local dope dealers hired me to be their enforcer in exchange for all the meth I ever wanted. I jumped in with both feet … Read More »
When DeJanee came to Hope Gardens, she was feeling depressed about her family’s situation. Like many teenagers, she didn’t want any of her classmates to know she had been devastated by homelessness. Learn how you helped DeJanee find joy again…
“I was still homeless,” Maria says. “I still felt so much hurt and shame. I mean, I was living on Skid Row, the worst place you could ever be. But inside Union Rescue Mission, I was the happiest I’d ever been.”
Raised by a single mother with 10 children in a small apartment, Maria grew up with a lot of “chaos.” By 13, she felt desperate to escape. So, against her mother’s wishes, Maria … Read More »
Sebastian has had a difficult young life. Before he was 8, he was already taken from his mom twice and placed in foster care because of his mother’s drug use. “I was afraid I would never see her again,” he says.
In 2015, his mother, Claudia, came to Hope Gardens to turn her life around, so she could give Sebastian the love he craved and so she could be the mom he needed. But when Sebastian rejoined her at Hope Gardens, instead of joy, he felt … Read More »