“I got mad when his food stamp card was denied and I had to cover groceries. It wasn’t about the money. He’d comment on my ‘new haircut’ and I was enraged because he’d already seen it many times. It wasn’t about my hair. I drove him from doctor to doctor, rehab to rehab, short tempered. My regret is now stronger than all the anger I felt throughout the years.”
‘He was homeless and I was embarrased by him. Now he’s free, and I’m chained by all the grace I couldn’t bear to give.’: Woman urges forgiveness after losing dad to overdose, ‘My regret is stronger than all the anger I felt for years’
‘Stay with us,’ they kept telling me. All I wanted was to close my eyes. The next many moments were a blur.’: Woman overcomes addiction, finds faith, ‘I’m so thankful drugs didn’t take over the precious life that awaited me’
“My mom covered her mouth and ran out of the room with tears in her eyes as my brother sat next to me. I was dying. I took 30 more pills slowly, not realizing what was happening. I should have died, and I almost did.”
‘How far along are you?’ You were unknowingly pregnant, alone, living in a tent under a bridge. I tried my best to keep you calm. My heart broke for you.’: 911 dispatcher recounts phone call from homeless woman that ‘changed her life forever’
“It was 4 a.m. and 39 degrees outside. You were cold and all alone. ‘Can you feel for any parts of the baby?’ You yelled out that you could feel her head! My heart broke for you. Those precious cries are something I will never forget.”
‘I ‘killed’ my son, long before he went missing 5 years ago.’: Mother encourages shift in ‘black parenting,’ claims ‘we can change the world with love’
“Growing up, my son loved me more than life, but feared me worse than death. I screamed in his face, threatened him for disturbing me, and dared him to cry when he was hurting. Sometimes, I denied him hugs and loving arms. Don’t make the same mistakes I did. Our sons suffer an invisible death when their mother is the first one to call him ‘bad.'”
‘Time’s up!’ My landlord arrives at 7 a.m. to change the locks. Now, I live in a car with my 7-year-old.’: Woman details domino effect of poverty, urges us to ‘be thankful’ for what we have
“All it takes is one unexpected bill, one fender bender, one lay-off, one house fire. I pay to shower at local truck stops and eat whatever can be cooked in a gas station microwave. Someone sees my daughter and I daughter living like this and calls CPS. They remove her from my care. Next, I lose my job. ‘An employee losing their child reflects poorly on this company.’ My window is smashed, my belongings stolen. I call the homeless shelter: ‘The beds are all full.’ We are all so close to homelessness.”
‘I’m young. Doesn’t everyone drink?’ I chose to be homeless. On the streets, no one could hold me back.’ : Young woman gains back ‘self respect, dignity’ after overcoming alcoholism
“I traded a life of steady income and comfort for a life on the streets in order to support my addiction. I slept in homeless camps, under bridges, along railroad tracks, and in strangers’ houses. My sign, ‘Support my whiskey right for a frisky night,’ made more money than any other sign asking for help. I was living on the street, so no one cared. It came with the territory.”
‘My mom wants you to hug me for her.’ I held him like my own son, for a long time.’: Stranger’s act of kindness for homeless addict pulls on heartstrings, ‘Tonight you hugged all of our struggling sons’
“‘How long has it been since you talked to your mom?’ He replied, ‘Oh, it’s been a long time.’ ‘Do me a favor. Call your mom to let her know you’re alive – will you do that for me?’ His face lit up. ‘Sure, I’ll call her right now if I can borrow your phone.’ I’ll admit, there was a nano second of hesitation that he might take off with it. She answered right away. My own son was that young man not long ago, on the street, begging for money, unsure if he was dead.”
‘The day I called my son a junkie. Twice. I’m not the same mom I was yesterday.’: Mother pleads with son to enter rehab for heroin addiction, ‘What is your plan? Prison? That’s next.’
“I start going through the bag he left at my house. I find everything. All his empty capsules, his spoons, his syringes. I realize he disposes the heroin capsules in cigarette boxes. There is so much. I feel like I can’t breathe. The tears fall as the images hit me in the face. My son. My son is a heroin addict. Knowing it and seeing it are completely different things. I’m not the same mom I was yesterday.”
‘That girl’s going to wish she didn’t sit by that nasty homeless chick.’ Patrons gave me side-eye.’: Woman encourages compassion after random act of kindness for homeless woman, ‘We’ve gotten so afraid to connect’
“After I placed my muffin on the table, I noticed a pile of filthy, worn bags filled with her belongings. A large piece of folded cardboard peeked out from the top of the bag. Immediately after I sat down, she asked me a question. ‘Have you seen any phone books anywhere?’”
‘Are you okay?’ I was visibly a junkie. This man took me to his home where his girlfriend was waiting.’: Woman reminisces on stranger’s ‘beautiful act of kindness’ during active addiction
“I used to sleep under this bridge. One day, at a gas station, I was visibly bleeding from a fight. This woman gently dressed my wounds. They gave me clothes, a soda, and a sandwich. I was literally too hungry to play shy, so I scarfed it down and chugged until I hiccuped. In that moment of pure desperation, they breathed life back into me.”
