“I Feel Like Something Good is Going to Happen Every Day”
Janice* was halfway through her senior year of high school, looking forward to prom, graduation and moving on to cosmetology school where she’d build on her already impressive talents as a stylist.
“I can do hair,” she says. “That’s a skill I have.”
But trouble at school and home resulted in a difficult decision to leave both behind and start down her own path. She found a steady job but struggled with occasional homelessness, sometimes couch surfing from house to house.
When Janice had a son at 19, she felt overwhelmed with the realities of being on her own as a single mother. She needed help, safety and stability — for herself and her baby.
“Everything was happening all at once,” she says. “And I didn’t have any support system.”
But thanks to friends like you, Janice, now 20, has a place to turn, where she gets the support she and her son need. After spending just one night in City Rescue Mission’s family shelter, she felt like things were already turning around.
“I’m so glad I’m here so I don’t have to worry about where I’m going tomorrow or the next day,” she says. “It takes a weight off my shoulders.” She’s beaming as she says these words.
Your support helps break the cycle of homelessness and poverty by equipping individuals like Janice with the tools she needs to thrive as a single mom. She eventually landed a job and independent, affordable housing, paving her way to stability and future success. The Mission provides her with life-transforming resources that will help her reach her goals of earning her high school degree, going to cosmetology school and giving her son a future filled with hope.
“But for now, it’s baby steps for me,” Janice says. “I feel like something good is going to happen every day for me from now on. I’ve just got to go step by step.”
*name has been changed
