Kim's Story

By the time Kim graduated from high school, she was already the mother of a four-year-old son — but she went on to complete a year of college. “I beat the odds,” she says proudly. Sadly, Kim’s luck turned against her in the following years, leading to what she calls “a long road of misadventures.”

Kim turned to drugs somewhere along that road. She also had another son. She took a detour and got sober for several months, but after the sudden death of a dear friend, her life spiraled out of control. “I lost everything,” Kim recalls.

Homeless for a while, Kim eventually found an apartment near her younger son’s father. “I let my guard down with him and picked up an even heavier drug habit — meth and heroin.I realized I had fallen down a deep hole and I couldn’t get out.” When she overdosed, Kim lost her son to foster care.

“I struggled to do whatever I could to get him back,” Kim says. Staying with her aunt, Kim got sober and regained custody of her son — but she just couldn’t see a way forward. “I wasn’t going anywhere. How could I ensure some kind of security for my son? Living on my aunt’s couch was not a good five-year plan.”

God had a plan for Kim and her son: Hope Gospel Mission.

“I needed change and I needed help. I was willing to give up everything to find some peace and joy. When I came to Hope Gospel Mission, it felt right. It’s a wonderful place.”

Here, Kim found the stability she and her son needed. “We’re safe. We have friends here.” She tells us her son loves the childcare at the Mission. “I’ve never seen him happier. He feels so welcome and comfortable.”

By this time next year, Kim hopes to be one of the first moms to complete the program. “I have a huge sense of hope that things can and will get better,” she says.

"I'm so thankful this program is here, and I'm so thankful to the donors who make it possible. Their kindness, generosity, and love are just amazing."