Samantha grew up with 10 children in her household, and she and her cousin Josh had to share a room with a divider down the middle.  It was chaotic, and Samantha spent a lot of time running around instead of at home.  She started smoking marijuana when she was 12 and soon she started drinking too.

Now 22, she was on the streets for several years before coming to Off the Streets^SM three weeks ago. “Out there,” she says, “you worry about where you’re going to sleep, how you’re going to eat, if you’re going to shower.  There are no worries like that here.”  It was lonely on the streets too.  She appreciates being around a group of women now, whom she can turn to.

At the same time, she appreciates that she has her own space too.  The other women call her room the dollhouse because Samantha is a girly-girl, and she agrees.  For example, she pasted pink stars made from construction paper around her mirror to decorate.  She likes to look out her window because it’s peaceful.  She particularly likes how safe she feels.  She says, “You aren’t trying to fall asleep around any strangers who may rob you, and the door locks.  I love that.”

Thank you Erik, for giving Samantha a sense of peace and safety.

Dana used to use jail as a place to rest.  Now she can rest in her room, provided as part of the Off the Streets^SM program thanks your generous donation.  She appreciates the community of women and how they problem solve together.  In her room, Dana can work on her art projects. Art is her hobby and helps her release emotions.

Dana, a survivor of child abuse, started using drugs as a teenager.  At 28, she was on the streets, often forced to solicit herself for a place to stay.  Now at 44, she is safe in her own room, thanks to you.  With this much needed space, she can focus on living sober and building a career.  Her dream is to become a chef and she has applied to a local program to study this trade.  She sees cooking as a form of art.

Thank you so much for providing shelter for Dana as she makes positive life changes.

The program director for Off the Streets^SM picked up Iris from a drug treatment facility in the pouring rain.  Under five feet tall, Iris clutched a plastic bag to her chest, filled with the only possessions she had.

In 2007, Iris lived in an apartment that burned down.  She moved to another residential housing unit before moving in with a boyfriend.  Their apartment burned down too.  That was how she first ended up homeless, living in the woods and transient hotels, using cocaine, marijuana and alcohol.  She briefly moved in with another man, but when he died in June, she found herself homeless again.

Today, at 49, she has been sober for 40 days.  She says, “My room is like a sanctuary to me.  I have a door I can close.  I can be by myself.  It changed my life.  I am off the streets literally.”  Iris is an avid reader and likes crossword puzzles, and she especially likes the quiet.  She says, “I sleep really well because it’s like a safe harbor here.”

Thank you for providing a week’s worth of housing for Iris!  She treasures her room.

Ashley was born a drug addict because her mother had been a drug user and prostitute while pregnant. Her mother then groomed Ashley for life on the streets.  At 30, Ashley has spent almost 15 years, or half her life, on the streets, after moving through 14 different foster homes.  She has been shot and survived heroin addiction.

Ashley learned about the Off the Streets^SM program while at a Coffee in the Park event.  She showed up with a friend, high on heroin, and recited an impromptu poem for the group.  The moment stood out for her, and she was soon part of the program.  The facilitators, with their own battles with recovery, showed her that it didn’t seem farfetched that she could live a healthy life. 

Today, Ashley has been sober for a year; she has had her own apartment for a month, and she has been employed now for three months.  She says that she used to be so immersed in shame and guilt that she didn’t believe she deserved a better life.  She doesn’t believe this anymore.  She says, “I can close my eyes and envision myself in five years.  I could never see myself like that before.” 

Thank you all so much for helping Ashley!  Now she believes that she has a full life ahead of her.

It is remarkable how much better Julie is now that she is in Off the Streets^SM.  She learned about the program from a friend, who was also in the program. Julie has been using drugs for the last eight years, but in the beginning, she was able to maintain herself enough to be in school and get married. But when her husband died, she turned to drugs to cope and her life spiraled down.

Today, at 29, Julie says that she is finally comfortable being alone. She just started a new job as a server in a restaurant, and she has signed up for classes in the fall so that she can finish her Bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in Addiction Studies. She wants to work to help others quit using drugs too, preferably in a large city.

Thank you all for giving Julie a chance to turn her life around.

Mae was referred to Off the Streets^SM through the criminal justice system after spending 10 years on the streets.  In the correctional facility, she shared space with 55 people in one pod, and on the streets, she didn’t know where she was going to sleep.  Now she has her own room with a bed, desk and dresser.

She describes her room as awesome.  It is her refuge.  She loves the privacy, and her room helps her relax.  Having her own space allows her to focus on her work in the Off the Streets^SM program so that she can eventually graduate from the program.  Then, she would like to attend college to study hospitality management.

Thank you so much Stephen for providing housing for Mae for another week!

Kim came to Off the Streets in March 2011 after 11 years on the streets.   She says, “I don’t know what I would do without Off the Streets. I am finally working on myself.”

She just got glasses for the first time – with bifocals.  When she was on the streets, she didn’t care that she couldn’t see much; all she cared about was getting high. Because of Off the Streets, she is learning to live in recovery and learning that she is worth taking care of.  “Next,” she says, “I want to work on my teeth.”

Kim’s goal is to get a place of her own so that her children can stay with her, and she wants to study sociology in school.

Thank you so much Cindy, Katelyn, Tom and Tod for providing Kim an opportunity to better her life and to realize her greatest potential.