If you met Carey today, you would think she is a typical mom living a middle-class life, but ten years ago she was just the opposite. Carey grew up in a pretty normal family until her parents divorced and her mother remarried when Carey was eighteen.
Carey’s stepfather was abusive, he terrorized the family, and Carey moved out seeking shelter with various friends. It was during this time in her life, Carey began abusing drugs and alcohol, which would eventually spiral her down to rock bottom.
In 1998, when Carey came to Shepherd’s Gate, she was a drug addict and suicidal, she had lost the hope of a better life. While she was at the shelter she found joy for the first time in her life when she began learning about Jesus and His love for her.
After leaving Shepherd’s Gate, Carey’s life has never been the same. She found a small one-bedroom apartment for her and her two children, enrolled herself in phlebotomy school, graduated, and received her credential. Since then she has worked at Valley Care Hospital. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else, I love everyone I work with, and I love what I do!”
“My life changed at Shepherd’s Gate, and I haven’t looked back. I was able to purchase a new car a couple of years ago, my children are with me, I have a great job, and now I own my own home. All my dreams have come true!”
Carey found out about a non-profit group that helps build houses for needy families. As she researched she found out they planned to build a development in Livermore, she kept up with the progress of the project, and when they began taking applications, four years later, she applied. She was accepted and now is the proud owner of a three-bedroom home.
“When you rent you know it’s not yours and that it’s not permanent, this home means my children and I have a place to call our own forever. To think I completely destroyed my life over ten years ago and was so hopeless. Today, I am a totally different person thanks to the Lord working in my life, and it all started at Shepherd’s Gate.”