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Make Yourself at Home

Renee thought all her problems were solved when she and her son, 9-year-old Austin, moved to their new home in the apartment complex where she worked.  The discount she received as an employee meant more financial stability and she needed that now more than ever with a new baby on the way.

But within weeks, Austin got sick and Renee stayed home to care for him.  Then, she almost miscarried and her doctor ordered her to stay in bed.  Soon management notified her she was fired — and that meant she lost their apartment, too.

For the first time in her tumultuous life, Renee was homeless with absolutely no one to turn to.  A friend of her father’s told her about City Rescue Mission, and Renee called to ask for shelter.  “A man answered and said, ‘Come on down and we’ll take care of you.  It’s safe and secure,’” Renee recalls.  “I started to cry.  I’d been homeless before, but I always had a place to go.  Going to a shelter totally freaked me out.”

That first week, she and Austin were “attached at the hip,” Renee says, but soon they began enjoying the program and the kindness of the people around them.  “I really appreciate the friendship,” she says.  “People I hardly know tell me if I need anything, just ask.”

Renee appreciates the spiritual emphasis of the Mission’s recovery program and the medical care she receives.  “Each week I go to the clinic to have my weight and blood pressure checked.  They can catch any health problems right away.”

At 27, Renee has been married twice and has two other children living with their father in Nevada.  Now, as she awaits the delivery of her fourth child, she is determined to get her life straight for good.  “I hope to get closer to God and do what He has called me to do.  And when I get married again, it will be until death do us part,” she says.

Though they look forward to the time when they can have a home of their own, Renee and Austin plan to complete the recovery program to ensure their future stability: “I don’t want to be homeless anymore.”