Autumn came to our doors almost two years ago after her husband died by suicide.
Horrifically, their oldest of four kids found him. She was only five.
Autumn was already intimately familiar with suffering, having endured horrific physical and sexual abuse as a child. She learned at an early age to numb any pain she felt. So she handled her husband’s death the way she would any other trauma … desensitizing herself with drugs.
“I didn’t have time to process my grief,” she recalls. “I honestly never knew I needed to heal.”
Then one night, Autumn was at a crossroads.
Her friend gave her a handful of pills. But instead of spiraling to rock bottom, God’s Spirit took root.
Seeds of faith planted in Autumn’s heart as a little girl began to grow straight through her heavy drug use, through the pain she’d endured, through the dysfunctional ways she coped.
Shortly after her prayer, Autumn saw a post for Hoving Home on social media.
She called, shared her story, and for the first time in our history, we invited a mom with four children to our Lioness and the Lamb Home.
Even though she didn’t know how she’d get to New York from the Midwest, God worked out those details for Autumn, too. One grandmother helped her move her belongings into storage, and another grandmother purchased plane tickets for Autumn and her children!
While staying at our Home was an adjustment, “They loved us through it,” Autumn shares. “My kids were mean, they didn’t sit at meals, but the people at Hoving Home poured grace and love into our lives.”
For the first time in her life, Autumn was allowed to heal and simply sit with God’s love.
Last Christmas, Autumn and her beautiful children were able to experience the true joy of Christ coming to earth to rescue, save, and redeem! It was the first Christmas Autumn remembers being sober.
“I was present,” Autumn shares of spending Christmas with her children. And because their mama was present, Autumn’s sweet children’s eyes lit up at seeing their mom at her very best, truly the way God intended. Even if they aren’t old enough to articulate it, they are proud, they feel secure, and there is joy and peace in their hearts!
“I am thankful to Hoving Home, because they provided a safe place for my family to come heal and restore and find hope and life,” Autumn shares.
What a beautiful Christmas miracle for this special family!
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Ladies come to Hoving Home from varied backgrounds and upbringings.
While many endured trauma and abuse as children, others grew up in healthy, loving homes and encountered brokenness later in life.
For Terra, she remembers a wonderful, Christian home.
“I was very blessed,” she shares. “I went to vacation Bible school, summer camps, and church.” Her parents were very attentive and involved in her life and growth.
But during her teen years, Terra experienced what many of her peers felt—a desire to rebel.
Terra felt acceptance from young people who did recreational drugs, which opened the door to destructive choices and behaviors.
“Coming from a structured home, I went full-time partying in college,” Terra shares. “I failed out. And that experience launched me to destroying my life.”
Terra’s hard drug use turned into addiction.
Because of the faith her parents instilled in her as a child, Terra knew deep down that freedom would only be found in Christ. But her addition left her completely powerless. So she told her parents about her drug use!
Terra wasn’t quite ready for help, but her mom knew what to do in the meantime. She started a fervent prayer chain for her daughter!
“It didn’t take much longer, and God changed my heart,” Terra remembers.
Terra finally came to Hoving Home in 1996! Even though she knew about Jesus, she fell in love with Him at Hoving Home. “It was such a gift in my life to be immersed in everything God!”
Terra blossomed spiritually and gained the life skills, and character-building training she needed. She worked with us as an intern and eventually served in missions, where she met her husband.
Today, Terra and her husband serve together as youth pastors as they raise their four boys and teach them what Terra learned as a little girl—that God loves them and will answer their prayers for their good.
“All of us live in a painful world and there are so many ways we can deal with the pain. We can cover it, ignore it, or think we cope with it,” Terra explains. “But the truth is God is the only one who can really touch that void we have. Hoving Home gives women the opportunity to break off lies and find truth and heal. God is the miracle worker.”
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Maria’s past is difficult enough to write. One can only imagine living it.
Maria’s parents were teenager when she was born. But they also suffered from episodes of domestic violence.
Maria entered foster care where trauma continued through molestation. Maria’s grandparents fought for custody and won, but so much damage had been done. Her memories of violence in the home went everywhere with her. It was difficult to get out of her mind.
“As a little girl, I didn’t feel like I belonged. I always felt empty and overlooked,” Maria expresses. “I grew up envying girls with their mother. During my teen years, I looked for attention from guys.”
Unhealthy friendships led to smoking and drug use. And when Maria was 16, she became a mom.
Maria got married and had more children. For a time, she lived a stable life. But since she never healed from her past, it resurfaced in various ways—and everything she had was taken away.
Like water running through her hands, Maria lost everything.
Maria was homeless for two years. Her despair turned to anger which turned to violence and time in prison. But in her lowest moment, she gained clarity.
“I surrendered my life to the Lord and begged God to give me a chance to be a mom again. I didn’t want to die an addict. I didn’t want my kids to know me this way!”
God faithfully and abundantly answered Maria’s prayers.
Upon parole, Maria went to Hoving Home, eager to grab hold of the only thing that could fill her nagging void—Jesus.
“I was so hard to love, but the staff was so patient with me,” Maria adds. “Little by little, my walls lowered, and I felt safe enough to open up.”
Maria opened her heart in parenting and anger management classes and welcomed God’s Spirit leading her forward!
Through time, prayer, and healing, Maria graduated from Hoving Home, became an intern, then a facilities director, then an education director!
After so much heartache in their past, Maria also made amends with all her children!
“I am thankful to Hoving Home for loving me and showing me what the love of Christ truly is,” Maria shares. “They taught me structure. They taught me values. It’s truly been a miracle.”
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Shawna’s feelings of emptiness and fear started early in life.
When her dad abandoned the family, Shawna was just a little girl. Even though mom was home, Shawna vividly remembers her mother battling substance abuse, never able to provide a stable presence for her daughter.
As Shawna grew up, she searched for love and acceptance everywhere she could! She tried relationships, drugs, and alcohol. They only ended in heartbreak and dangerous behavior.
Shawna tried learning more about faith and becoming a mom. But the peace and security of Jesus eluded her. From abusive relationships to entanglement in a biker gang and stalking, Shawna never felt safe.
Her plunge into despair and drug use only got worse. And she was taking her precious children with her.
Shawna’s drug abuse put her in and out of the hospital and made home life chaotic. “My daughter told me she would come check on me every morning, not to make sure I was up, but to make sure I wasn’t dead.”
One day, Shawna experienced dangerous convulsions in front of her daughter, who held her head steady from banging into the ground. Shawna knew she needed help.
Courageously, Shawna left her children in her mother’s care and traveled many states to find refuge. God brought her true restoration at Hoving Home.
When Shawna heard the ladies at Hoving Home utter, “Welcome home,” she finally believed she was safe. She also finally had time to learn how to live a life of faith instead of mere survival.
“I finally had time to sit with the Lord and allow Him to heal the parts of me that were too shameful to expose,” Shawna shares.
At Hoving Home, Shawna read Scripture, worshipped God, and prayed for help and healing. God answered in miraculous ways. The Holy Spirit gave Shawna power to forgive the men who brought trauma and hardship into her life. She also learned to forgive herself.
Shawna has been clean for over two years, and she is reunited with her five children. She bought her own home and is preparing to work with an organization that serves women in crisis.
Shawna is thankful for her new life and now understands the value of being a child of God! She has learned how to make decisions by following God’s Word instead of her emotions. “I’m able to surrender more and more to Him,” she shares. “I am grateful for every person who donates financially and pray for the ladies at Hoving Home. I received the healing I needed to be the mother I am today.”
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As a little girl, Jennifer’s home life was marked by chaos.
Her dad’s alcoholism sowed seeds of fear and rejection in Jennifer’s heart. Over time, his uncontrolled anger led to emotional and physical abuse. Jennifer’s mom suffered from mental health challenges, preventing her from giving Jennifer security—or protecting her little girl from abuse.
Without acceptance in her family, Jennifer looked for it at school. She’d do anything to be liked, to the point of trying cocaine and ecstasy in high school. The pattern of instability continued through early adulthood, even after being clean for a period of time during her military training.
Life spiraled further out of control when Jennifer tried heroin. “It took me to places I never thought I would go,” she expresses.
Jennifer’s on-and-off addiction turned into complete enslavement and prostitution to support her drug use. It also exposed Jennifer to horrific traumas, rape and jail time.
In her lowest moment, God reached out in the most unexpected way. Someone her dad works with told him about Hoving Home.
Over 12 years ago, Jennifer walked through our doors … grateful to be in a place called “home.” God transformed her heart as she learned about Jesus’ love.
“I don’t want people to think as soon as you accept Christ, all of your problems are gone,” Jennifer adds. “But I had a safe place to legitimately heal, learn about God, and get connected.”
After completing our program and serving as an intern for a year, Jennifer went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from a Christian college. She met a wonderful Christ-following man and they now have three beautiful children.
Life hasn’t been without difficulties, but thanks to God’s work in her life, Jennifer knows how to move through challenges with faith.
Jennifer also shares the truth and skills she’s learned with others as a case manager — and a good neighbor. Whether she’s meeting people in the city where she lives who are struggling with substance abuse or supporting clients at work, Jennifer shares her knowledge to help others.
“I’ve gone on to do more things than I would have ever been able to do if I stayed in my addiction,” Jennifer express. “God wants to use us, and we have the skills and abilities to be used by Him.”
Jennifer is living proof of God’s plan to redeem lives and put them on a path of making a difference for Christ. He’s turned Jennifer’s past of pain and brokenness into a ministry of hope and healing.
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Growing up, Cassidy remembers feeling sad. A lot.
As a young girl, Cassidy’s undiagnosed depression was impacting her self-worth. She felt like she had to carry her sorrows alone so she didn’t inconvenience anyone around her.
In God’s providence, He guided Cassidy to a best friend who knew Jesus. One day, Cassidy noticed Scriptures on his coffee table. It was Isaiah 41:10 which says. “Do not fear, for I am with you … I will help you and strengthen you.” God’s promises spoke to her heart!
At that time, Cassidy placed her faith in God and began using her gift of singing to worship Christ. But her depression didn’t disappear.
For a while, Cassidy relied on medical marijuana to avoid despair. It gave her space to pursue work as a registered nurse and stay involved in her church. But in especially low moments, Cassidy turned to alcohol, drank progressively more, and lost self-control over her choices.
Cassidy was pulled over multiple times while intoxicated and given warnings. But after a fourth arrest in a church parking lot, time in prison was imminent, until a judge miraculously allowed Cassidy to go to Hoving Home instead.
Hoving Home gave Cassidy a safe place to handle her challenges in healthy ways.
“Instead of relying on marijuana, for example, I can journal, pray or listen to worship music,” Cassidy shares. She is also managing her depression more thoughtfully with safe medication instead of numbing the sadness away.
As if life came full circle, earlier this year, Cassidy married her childhood friend who showed her to Jesus!
She is eager to start a family and use her nursing skills again. She is also thankful for caring supporters and staff at Hoving Home who helped her grow in her faith and lean on the Lord during difficulties.
“God uses this program in so many ways,” Cassidy expresses. “I was in a pit and He pulled me closer to Him!”
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When Chelsea was two years old, she was found wandering around a neighborhood near a police station by herself in her native South Korea.
“Nobody could find anybody that was related to me,” Chelsea shares.
Chelsea was placed in foster care until she was adopted by a family in the United States. While her adoptive family took her to church and tried to teach her about God, Chelsea rebelled against everything she learned.
“I felt like I didn’t fit in anywhere,” Chelsea remembers.
One drug in particular, meth, seized Chelsea’s life immediately—and numbed her throughout an abusive relationship.
“I would walk the streets for hours, wanting protection, and I always found myself at churches. I wasn’t an active believer, but I just knew God was somewhere.”
One day, Chelsea looked in the mirror and saw her two black eyes and a broken wrist and knew, “This is not the life God wants for me.”
Despite her mistakes, Chelsea’s parents never gave up on her and told her about Hoving Home. “Upon walking through the doors, I was met with nothing but love and support from people who didn’t even know me,” she remembers.
After completing the program at our Pasadena, California Home, the Lord opened a door for Chelsea to attend our Leadership Academy.
After some bumps in the road, Chelsea spent a couple more months at our program in Garrison, New York and later graduated from our Leadership Academy. She served as a facilities intern first and then got hired as our education coordinator at our Home in Oxford, NJ!
“I’m really grateful I get to be part of women’s recovery,” Chelsea says.
She sees how Hoving Home supporters play a huge role in each woman’s story and is thankful to see God’s miracles firsthand.
“There’s no way this would happen without their love and generosity!”
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Most people can look back at their childhood and remember fond moments with loving family members. But as a young child, Rachel’s mom kidnapped her and raised her with a gang.
“I was exposed to things children should never be exposed to,” Rachel remembers. “Physical and sexual abuse.”
In need of help, Rachel’s mom was committed to a mental institution, forcing Rachel into unhealthy foster homes throughout her childhood.
When Rachel was a young teen, her mom regained custody, until one day she left the house and never came back.
Miraculously, Rachel graduated from high school and got a job in the dental field. But inside, she was utterly broken.
So Rachel sought love through unhealthy relationships with men, no matter how dangerous they became.
Rachel’s lifestyle exposed her to drugs, addiction, and jail time. For 25 years, Rachel survived on the streets, prostituting herself for drugs. But God never stopped pursuing her.
“I woke up one morning and said, ‘God if you’re real, I don’t want to do this anymore. I need your help.’”
That’s when Rachel remembered a book she read in jail … the story of Hoving Home. She called and came right over.
Rachel allowed God’s love to fill the empty areas of her life, memorizing Scripture and replacing despair with truth.
“It was hard for me to trust people,” Rachel admits. “But volunteers would just love on us. They gave their time, and it was so special.”
Rachel also gained an appreciation for our donors while helping in our financial office on her path to graduating. “I would gather checks from the mail and think how loved we were. Their generosity saved my life.”
Today, Scripture dwells richly in Rachel’s heart. She thanks God for the people He used in her redemption story and now sees it as her turn to help others.
Rachel hopes to serve as a chaplain in a Christian organization, so she can share the hope she found in Christ with other women in crisis. She knows what it is like to go from darkness to light and wants as many women as possible to know Christ’s redeeming love.
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Oftentimes, our lives can start out whole, filled with love … and then sin creeps in.
Kelsey grew up with a caring family. She learned about God and got baptized as a child. But as much love as her family provided, something was missing.
Kelsey began to seek acceptance and approval from friends.
Quickly, the seriousness of Kelsey’s decisions worsened … gangs, selling drugs and eventually selling her body to survive.
“My family watched me destroy my life,” Kelsey shares.
But Kelsey’s family – and God – never gave up opening doors for Kelsey. She tried different programs to overcome her addiction and address her mental health challenges, but every time she left, she returned to her old ways.
“I needed a serious change,” Kelsey expresses. “And by the grace of God, I came here to the Hoving Home last April.”
While initially worried and afraid, Kelsey began to see God’s loving providence in her life.
By working through the underlying issues of her addiction and desire to be accepted, she began to accept God’s plan for her life.
“I learned I am a very strong and courageous lady that has walked through a dark path,” Kelsey adds.
Today, Kelsey is eager to see God’s plans unfold for her life. She hopes to finish her education, get a job and give back to the community that gave so much to her.
It’s a joy to see Kelsey welcome the mercy of Christ and experience His miraculous power to make all things new.
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It’s hard to imagine how Lanisha must have felt when she was seven … moving from Milwaukee to California to live with her grandma because of her mom’s crack addiction.
Lanisha was just starting to loose teeth … now she was losing everything she knew.
With so much dysfunction, Lanisha took on adult responsibilities while still a child, often in charge of caring for her three younger siblings.
Lanisha ran to the worst things: drugs, alcohol and street gangs. When she was fourteen, she started a vicious cycle of gang life, promiscuity, abusive relationships, drug use and prison time.
“I didn’t know what love was,” Lanisha now understands.
By the time she was 26, Lanisha had three children and no direction—until her daughter told her she didn’t want her to end up “like grandma.”
In a moment of clarity, Lanisha realized she needed help and came to Hoving Home.
“From the time I entered Hoving Home, I felt a sense of peace like a burden was lifted,” Lanisha shares.
Thanks to your generosity, Lanisha had time to heal from past wounds and learn how to cope in healthy ways.
“I learned to pray and commune with Christians,” Lanisha shares. “They showed me I can have self-control and patience. They taught me to have quiet time with God before you start your day. I have taken that with me.”
Most of all, Lanisha felt loved.
![At first, I tried to push [the Hoving Home staff’s love] away, but they continued. It was real and genuine. It was the love of Christ. They made me feel worthy of love.-Lanisha](https://hovinghome.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/story_Lanisha_quote2.jpg)
Lanisha now understands the new life she has in Christ!
She loves being a mom to her beautiful children and currently works as a Ministry Assistant at a recovery center, helping other women find hope for their future.
“I’m thankful for the Hoving Home, because they were a part of my second chance at life and my transformation to my new life with Christ.”
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