In April, 2007, I went to live at Good Shepherd Center with all my possessions packed in a single black plastic trash bag. I was hungry, humiliated and beaten. Life had taken a toll on me. They told me it would get better, and I had to believe them. Hope was my most valuable possession.
Six weeks later I moved from the emergency shelter into Good Shepherd’s transitional shelter with a suitcase and my head held high. I had accomplished a great deal in 6 short weeks. Life held a promise of so much more than I ever dreamed possible!
A year and a half later I moved into my own apartment. This was the first time I had ever had a place of my own, and I felt like a teenager going off to college for the first time. The main difference was that I had a job to go to the next day. I would not be here today if it were not for the support I received while I was at Good Shepherd Center. From the time I arrived and they gave me food to eat, to the day I left with a blanket, comforter and a few supplies to set up my new home, Good Shepherd was with me all the way!
A Program of Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Inc.