Eva had lived through domestic violence before, so when her new boyfriend started showing the tell-tale signs of an abuser, she knew she, her kids, and her unborn child had to escape.
If friends like you hadn’t made it possible for us to welcome them at the Mission, she would have ended up on the streets. If it had been July, she might have been safe from her abuser – but not the deadly triple digit heat.
“I remembered the Phoenix Rescue Mission,” Eva says. “I’ve been here before, in 2014, so I called to see if they had an intake, and they did.”
When Eva came ten years ago, she stayed for two weeks. Even in that short time, she was able to use what she learned from us to help her stay sober for six years.
But then, tragedy struck.
“I had a death in the family, which caused a relapse,” she says. “The relapse was pretty intense, and I lost my place, where I was living.”
Needing a place to live, Eva moved in with her boyfriend and continued using drugs until he became abusive. With nowhere else to turn, she called and asked for help.
“Once you relapse and you feel like you’re hopeless, it kind of puts you down a dark place,” she says. “I needed something more than I had before, and that’s why I chose to come here.”
“I feel like I didn’t want to bury anything, I wanted to bring it all up,” says Eva. “I knew that there were counseling services and everything else that would help me here.”
Eva, who was introduced to meth by her mom when she was just 13, had a lot of pain, trauma, and dysfunction to dig up and heal from. With the Christ-centered support she got here, she was able to build a new foundation for her family.
“My whole outlook on life has changed. . . Now, I feel strong, and I have enough tools to keep me sober.” The right help at the right time also made it possible for Eva to begin healing broken relationships – both with her family and with Jesus Christ.
“I have a good relationship with God, and I think that’s the most important thing you can have.”
Others are Still In Danger!
Now sober, with a roof over her head and making plans for the future, Eva feels for all the people still trapped in addiction and battling the horror of the streets this summer.
“It’s a struggle out there. The drugs are worse than ever before,” she says.
Eva knows that it’s because of the Mission and friends like you that she and her kids have a bright future ahead, and she wants other people to get that same chance. Together, we can give it to them.
