Laurel's Story
I felt so alone, like God could see me struggling, but He didn’t care.
“I was lost, but the Mission helped me find myself and accomplish all my goals.”
When Laurel was a little girl, she had dreams of a wonderful life, a home, a career, and a family of her own. Then an unspeakable trauma crushed them all and left her with deep, emotional wounds. “I always had negative thoughts. I felt like I couldn’t do anything right,” she says. “I didn’t know how to cope, so I never healed.”
When she was 12, a friend introduced Laurel to alcohol and she quickly discovered that it numbed her pain. It was the beginning of a struggle with addiction that eventually left her homeless and desperate.
“I felt so alone, like God could see me struggling, but He didn’t care.” Then Laurel had a child of her own, and when she lost custody, it broke her heart.
In that moment, she committed to become the mother her son needed and the woman God intended her to be. But she didn’t know how to change her life.
That’s when she came to Simonka Place, where she found safe shelter, warm meals, the support of our loving staff, and a newfound faith in the goodness of God. “Now, I know that He’s always been with me. I’m never alone.”
Her growing faith, counseling, and life skills classes have helped Laurel find emotional healing, learn healthy ways to cope, and develop parenting skills.
“I finally talked about my issues, processed my trauma, and changed my negative thinking,” Laurel says.
“Now, I’m stable and happy and can be a good mother.” She’s now regained custody of her son, they have moved into their own place, and the dreams she had as a little girl are finally coming true. “I’m going to have a good job, sleep in my own place, and take care of all my son’s needs.”
Her life has been renewed through the joy and hope of the Gospel! “I was lost, but the Mission helped me find myself and accomplish all my goals.”
