I needed support and encouragement. I was in kind of a tough situation to decide to keep a baby. But when I got there, the person I met with was very encouraging and supportive of my decision.
I was also really concerned that I wouldn’t have the proper stuff to take care of the baby and the proper resources to get housing. I needed to know what my options were and where to get food and diapers and formula and how to apply for Medicaid. Alternatives provided me with all of that.
I met with Dina, and she was very friendly, and she made me feel comfortable. She called me periodically throughout my whole pregnancy just to check on me. It was so encouraging just knowing that I could do it and that whatever choices that I made, there was somebody that had my back.
The baby’s dad and I have been married a year now, and my daughter just turned one. She’s so smart and beautiful. I’m not in the halfway house anymore, and I just graduated from the program at Purple Door Coffee. Now I’m taking an accounting class at a trade school to learn how to do bookkeeping.
Having a place like Alternatives — that believes in me and encourages me — helped me to get where I am. They’re just always there to encourage me and let me know that I have worth and that I can do anything that I put my mind to. I’ve never had somebody like that.
I would tell any woman like me that no matter what she decided to do, Alternatives will walk alongside her through it. Because she’s not alone. She can be kind and compassionate to herself and grant herself grace. It makes everything harder when you’re hard on yourself, so you need to love yourself and be kind to yourself.