June 4th, 2006 is the day I received the greatest gift ever. I knew I needed help so I went to St. Clare's Home for an intake and they told me all I could do was wait for a call to tell me Yes or No if I was accepted or not. Wait where? I was homeless with my children.

I remember walking the street that sweaty hot day and my kids were crying and thirsty. We went to a school and got a drink of water and I cried. I called shelters and no one had any openings. I even thought about suicide. I had  enough bus money so we got on the bus to Ramona where my dad lived and stayed with him in a tent at a park. He was homeless too. That was the last day I used drugs.

Two days later I was accepted into the St. Clare's Home Program and my life has made a complete change.

St. Clare's Home has given me the foundation to make my life worth living again. While at St. Clare's, I went back to school and got a job and I learned to be self sufficient and love myself.

Today I have 3 years clean and I am going to college to become a medical assistant and I am not stopping there, my ultimate goal is to become a physicians assistant. I have a GPA of 3.7 and I am on the honors society. I keep myself emotionally and spiritually healthy by working a 12 step program.

At graduations Sister Claire tells the story of her very first client and her son 26 years ago. Next spring I will be getting married to that son who is now 31 and doing well. My kids are healthy and happy and don’t have to cry of thirst every again.