Stories

Christina* had a tough start in life. She was the 5th child of a young single mother on welfare, and abuse in the home ran rampant. The family constantly struggled with poverty: “We basically lived in the projects,” she remembers. She knows that her mom did the best she could under the circumstances, but Christina…

By Steve and Carla McRee “I wish you had never been born.” Those are the words Debbie remembers her mom saying to her when she was just a little girl. Debbie believed she was so unworthy of love that when she got married and her husband abused her, she hung her head and kept silent….

By Noreen A Heartfelt Letter From a Resident To everyone who gives to Shepherd’s Gate, When I first came to Shepherd’s Gate, I was desperate to find a way to change my life. I can’t even think of a time before I came here when I had hope that my life could be happy. I…

You may have read Elise’s testimony in one of our newsletters or blog articles, but you’ve never seen her like this. Take a few minutes to watch as she shares from the heart how God took her, and her children, on a journey of restoration at Shepherd’s Gate. UPDATE: Midway through Mia’s journey here at…

Sarah’s mother was 14 when she was born — her father was 15 and addicted to drugs. She bounced between two homes and two completely different worlds, but neither were stable. As a child, she witnessed both her mother and grandmother endure brutal physical abuse. Once Sarah was a little older, she was forced to…

Aimee* was born into a family of abusive alcoholics. By the time she was 6, her mother’s boyfriend was molesting her on a regular basis. She didn’t know what to do. All she knew was that she needed to protect her little sister. To keep her sister from being touched, Aimee remained silent and let…

By Steve and Carla McRee After being separated for a year, 10 year-old Nicholas* was so excited when the day came for him to move to Shepherd’s Gate with his mom Bethany* and his younger brother. “It was just for the school year, but it felt like a lifetime. I was happy for my mom…

By Steve McRee No Woman Deserves to Be Abused — but there are women right here in our community who may not know that. Trapped in a cycle of abuse that often begins in childhood, many victims of domestic violence believe, “I did something that caused him to snap,” or, “It just happened the one time —…

By Steve McRee Homelessness doesn’t always appear as the man covered in newspapers, sleeping on a park bench; or as the person on the corner next to a shopping cart or backpack holding everything they own, asking those who pass by for spare change. According to the Department of Education and the most recent Census…