Vanessa’s LifeChange Story
For much of Vanessa’s life, the holidays were anything but happy. She started using marijuana when she was 10 to numb the pain of being abused. It didn’t help. By 17, she was using meth. For years she cycled between prison and homelessness.
Homeless, Hungry and Hopeless
“There were days that I was hungry, that I didn’t have nothing to eat,” Vanessa says. Knowing that other people were enjoying wholesome time with family and friends made the holidays even worse. “Those times were really hard. It only made you want to do more drugs,” she says.
Vanessa stopped using drugs in 2022. That same year, her sister went through our LifeChange program. Seeing her transformation, Vanessa dared to hope that she could experience that kind of healing, too. “I was finally tired of being tired, going from couch to couch, sometimes not knowing where or who I was going to be around. Not knowing if I was going to eat, being in and out of an abusive, toxic relationship and feeling like I didn’t deserve anything more than that,” she says.
A Life Changing Christmas
Vanessa started our LifeChange program a few months before Christmas. For the first time that year, she was able to truly celebrate. “These last Christmases have been new. They have been joyful. They have been a blessing,” Vanessa says. “Christmas is more about Jesus than anything. Now, I’m not just hearing the story of how Jesus was born . . . I’m really hearing it and really feeling it and understanding it more now that I’m sober.”
But Vanessa isn’t just sober. She knows she is a child of God. She knows she has worth. She has value and knows she never deserved the decades of bruises she endured. LifeChange helped her see all that — and helped her truly heal.
Relationships Restored
While in the program, Vanessa was able to reconnect with one of her daughters who she hadn’t spoken to in 4 years! “We can talk, I can call her anytime,” Vanessa says. “It was about a month ago, she sent me a message, and she said, ‘I’m proud of you, mom. I love you.’”
Those words meant the world to Vanessa, but even more exciting was meeting some of her grandchildren for the first time. “It’s amazing!” she says. My relationship with God has gotten closer, and my healing through therapy has gotten stronger. — VANESSA
Grateful and Giving Back
After graduating last year, Vanessa decided she wanted to devote her life to helping others. She’s now a Certified Recovery Mentor, providing in-home care for the elderly and disabled. “I feel really good about my future,” she says. “I have a driver’s license now. Something I never thought I would have.”
Most of all, she’s grateful for the relationship she has with Jesus. “God has gotten me through all this. I couldn’t be the person that I am today without Him.” And while God and God alone transformed Vanessa’s heart, mind and soul, she knows it wouldn’t have happened without the generous support of Mission partners like you. “I’m very grateful for UGM and for all it has to offer,” Vanessa says.