I love my family. Sure me and my parents would argue and fight, but at the end of the day, we loved each other and had each others back.
When I turned 18, all of that changed. I woke up to my parents telling me that I had to move out because I was now an adult and I needed to figure out things on my own.
I had nothing. No job, no money, nothing. And now I had to find a place to stay.
I called a few friends and they all told me that they didn't have anything for me. All day I was stressing out trying to figure out what to do.
At the last minute I called my Aunt and she said that I can come sleep on her recliner.
So for the next 2 months, I lived on a recliner. No bed, no room, no privacy, just a recliner with a house full of people.
I heard about YouthHope from a friend and went in one day to see if they could help me.
I immediately felt cared for. These people didn't know me, yet they stopped everything they were doing to help me find housing.
They had an open spot in their housing program and they offered it to me.
I was shocked. I was able to move in the next day!
When I walked into the house and saw my bedroom, I had tears in my eyes. I couldn’t believe that I got to call this place my own.
No more fear of being kicked out of my house, no more sleeping on a recliner and having no privacy.
This place is my home and a safe haven.
I’ve never felt such peace.
I’ve never really had a stable living situation the majority of my life. I was always moving from house to house with my mom. I would sleep on the floor, on a couch, on a blow up mattress, anywhere that could fit me.
When I turned 18, I had enough. The trauma of not having a safe, permanent house left me wanting to go find my own safe place.
When I left home, I was homeless. I ended up with the wrong crowd and found myself doing drugs, fighting, and getting arrested.
I found YouthHope early on in my street life. Most days, if you walked into the Drop In Center, you could find me there.
Over the years, YouthHope helped me whenever I came to them. They never judged me.
When I turned 23 I decided I was done with the up and down of this life. I sat down with Heidi and really expressed my desire to start having a stable life.
She told me about the homeless hotel that the City of Redlands had built. It was exactly what I needed. She set up an appointment and I was able to sign up and get approved very quickly.
Its been over a year since I moved in and I am still so happy with my decision. I know I wont be here forever, but to have a place of my own that is stable is something that I have wanted and needed for so long.
I have a long ways to go in all areas of my life, but I count this as a huge success in my life.
Thank you YouthHope and City of Redlands!
I’ve known and have been a part of YouthHope for years. I come regularly, I use the resources all the time, and I consider the people at YouthHope to be my family.
My own family abandoned me early on in my life. I only have rare contact with my sister, but even that relationship is rocky.
I was doing good. I was in school, working, and living in a decent place. I thought that I had everything figured out.
But then I had a bad weekend. I ended up back in old habits, with old friends, and substances.
I knew that what I was doing wasn’t good, but I couldn't stop. My anxiety and depression were coming back and I just wanted to escape reality for a bit.
The next day when I was hungover and even more depressed and suicidal, I came to YouthHope.
I wasn't scared to tell Heidi what had happened and I knew that she would help. I guess that’s what happens when you are loved unconditionally. I knew that they would still love me even when I made such a huge mistake.
I came in crying and asking for help because I didn't trust myself.
Heidi got me immediate medical help and also help with my substance abuse.
I’m on my way to a rehab where I will work on healing myself. I want to get back to the healthy version of me so I can continue to succeed.
I know that I will eventually get through this, but I also know there are always second chances at YouthHope.
Thank you for loving me YouthHope, even the hard and broken parts.
Thomas Edison invented so many things in his latter years. He worked in a small barn with his son, trying to perfect his latest invention. Working as usual late, an unfortunate combination of chemicals caused his latest experiment to burst into flames.
The fire spread quickly through the old wooden structure, becoming a towering inferno. Edison’s son ran around the flaming structure looking for his father, fearing that he may still be in the barn trying to save his precious life’s work. He soon found his father covered in ash and without taking his eyes off the flames, Edison said, “Son, go get your mother!” “Why dad?” His son replied. With a twinkle in his eyes his father replied, “Because your mother comes from a small town and she’s never seen a fire like his before!”
After the flames had died down, and all that was left was a pile of ash, Edison asked his son if he knew anyone with a tractor. Again his son asked why, and Edison replied, “Because it’s time to rebuild son, it’s time to rebuild!”
Your attitude is more important than you realize! It’s the most important thing about you– more important than your education, your past, your looks, or your money. Your attitude will help you make friends or cause you to make enemies, it will attract people to you, or repel them. I am absolutely convinced of the truth behind the maxim “10 Percent of your life is what happens to you, the other 90 percent is how you respond to what happens to you!” That’s where character is built. That’s where personality is formed. That’s where your attitude is expressed. Make yours a great attitude!