Erin says she was “just following God’s direction” when she came to Hope Gospel Mission for the second time earlier this year.
She and her children had first come to the Mission before the pandemic when Erin was pregnant and separated from her husband. When her youngest child was just three months old, Erin returned to her husband, but soon knew she had made a mistake.
“God told me I needed to finish what I started at the Mission," Erin says. She found friends and family to care for her four older children and brought the three youngest back to Hope with her.
In the years before coming to Hope, Erin and her children had not only suffered abuse, they had faced homelessness twice — once living in tents in a back yard. However, she tells us, “Through all the things I’ve been through, God has always been there.” Now she also has Hope Gospel Mission — and you — on her side.
This time around, Erin says, “It’s a privilege to be here, to be around people I know I can trust, who can help me if I have questions. I feel at peace here. I feel safe. I feel loved, and my kids love it here. They know they don’t have to worry about anything, that I’m doing what I need to do to become the best mom I can be for them. I’m very glad I was able to come back.”
When her children are in day care, Erin is completing the program and working in our Bargain Center. She is one of our most dedicated workers! “I want to do my best," she says, "and I like to keep busy."
Erin is determined that when she leaves the Mission this time, her life — and her children’s lives — will be very different. She plans to get a massage therapy license. She also plans to become an advocate for women in abusive relationships, especially mothers. “I want to let them know there’s hope, that they can leave.”
You gave Erin that hope. Because you care, she says, “I can keep looking forward in every aspect of my life, every day.”
