"I started out living in my car with my son, Michael. When we lost my car, I turned to the Sanctuary Women's Development Center. It gave us a place to go during the day so we wouldn’t have to walk the streets. We could take showers, do laundry, visit with our case manager and find a place to sleep without the fear of being unsafe!
"I was working with my case manager, Whitney, over at Sanctuary Women's Development Center. After I got into housing, I was still in need of transportation so I could get to and from a job. I can't believe it, but she helped me get into a used car that was donated to Catholic Charities. The next week I accepted a job offer and my life hasn't been the same since!
"I was diagnosed with Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria and Aplastic Anemia and needed a bone marrow transplant. The only match was my brother in Nigeria but he was unable to obtain permission to come to the US. I had almost given up hope until I contacted Catholic Charities. They helped my brother with documentation in order to get a Humanitarian Visa. His application was approved, he traveled to Oklahoma for the transplant surgery and was given time to heal. Catholic Charities helped save my life and restored my hope.
"To any donor who gives to Catholic Charities I would like to say thank you for being a part of my life and allowing me the resources I desperately needed in order to move through my grief. Now I have a new life and a new beginning. I have been able to share my story and help others going through loss. Your organization has touched my life forever.
"The failure of not making right decisions that lead me to homelessness, feelings of loneliness and fear of the future were the most challenging of all. That is where my faith had to grow, and it did with the help of the Women’s Sanctuary. If it were not for a staff of non-judgmental ladies and the volunteers that included faithful women of God, who brought faith studies of good decisions from God's Word and encouragement from the same, it would have taken me longer to achieve.
"I lived out of my car for a year and 10 months before a friend told me about Catholic Charities. It was a scary, overwhelming and tiresome experience. Catholic Charities, along with the ladies at women's sanctuary, gave me hope and inspired me to motivate other women. I am a stronger woman now and I plead with you to give to this cause so women will not have to go through what I endured.