Bay Area Rescue Mission

When Lanesha was a little girl, she longed for her parents’ love and attention, but they were struggling with serious addictions. She was left to care for herself and grew up believing she wasn’t worthy of love. At just 13, Lanesha began numbing her pain with drugs and alcohol, the beginning of a 12-year struggle with addiction. “I wound up homeless, living on the streets and staying in motels,” she says. “My life was a mess.”Then Lanesha became a mother and couldn’t bear to see her son growing up like she had, longing for love and security. “I wasn’t going to put my son through the same things I’d gone through – not having a stable place to stay and seeing his mother using. It was time for a change.”Lanesha decided to come with her son to our Center for Women and Children, where they found food, shelter and the support of loving staff.“My son is content and comfortable, and I’m at peace knowing he’s in a safe place,” she says.Through our Life Transformation Program classes, Lanesha has also developed healthy coping skills, parenting techniques, and counseling. Now, she’s working on her GED and completing our Culinary Arts Training Program with plans to start a catering business and create a happy, stable home for her son.Because you gave from your heart to help Lanesha, her life has been changed forever! “Now I know I’m worth more than the way I was living. My future is bright.”