“There’s a better life out there.”

Before coming to the Rescue Mission, Windy and her two daughters had been living in a broken down trailer, struggling to survive without electricity, heat or running water.

“I was in abusive relationships,” she says, “and living in a very bad part of Oceanside… I was digging into dumpsters, recycling, doing whatever I could.” For roughly six years, Windy and her children didn’t have a stable home. “I was struggling with a severe addiction,” she says. “Eventually CPS was called.” Desperate to keep her family together, Windy came to the San Diego Rescue Mission. “I was hoping to find a stable environment for my kids, a roof over our heads, a shower…”

At the Rescue Mission, not only did she and her children have access to three meals a day, showers and safe shelter every night, but through our 12-month Mission Academy program, Windy found support to overcome the addiction that had overwhelmed her family. “The staff at the Rescue Mission surrounded me with love and didn’t let me go,” Windy says. As she began earning her GED, Windy’s mentors helped her find housing and taught her how to save money and start working again.

Because of her hard work, Windy was awarded our Women’s Housing Scholarship! “It was hard and scary to let go of the life I knew,” she says. “But I’ve felt God’s presence here, and it’s helped me.”

Windy is grateful for the transformation in her heart and life, made possible thanks to caring friends like you who provided help that really works. “Now that I have a support system, I’m a totally changed person. I’m a better mom to my kids.”

To read this issue of Mission in Motion, click to download.