“Where Else Would I Go?”
On Thanksgiving Day a year ago, Nicole wasn’t feeling very grateful. It was 9:30 p.m., and she and her three young children had just been kicked out of her mom’s house. Nicole and her kids — ages 7, 5 and 3 — were walking down the road in the dark, in the cold, with no place to go.
She called the police to ask for help, and a kind officer picked them up and brought them to City Rescue Mission. Finally, a reason to give thanks.
Nicole and her mom had had a contentious relationship for years, starting in her early childhood when she was given up for adoption. Over the years, they would reconcile briefly, then start fighting again.
But last fall, Nicole and her kids really needed her mom’s help: Nicole had fled a domestic violence situation and sadly, did not receive the support she needed from her mom.
Nicole and her kids have found peace at the Mission’s family shelter. She’s in our employment readiness program and is looking into getting training in welding and/or movie set design.
“I like being creative, doing things with my hands,” she says.
Nicole recently received a housing voucher and is hoping to get her own place soon. Till then, she’s thankful for friends like you who helped give her a chance for a better future.
“Where else was I going to go?” she asks. “I would’ve ended up on the streets.”
