My name is Teloa, and I can finally laugh again. I’ve found my higher power, and I’ve learned that with God in my life there really is hope for me. But it hasn’t always been that way.

Crack ruined my life. I had no future, and I wanted to die…but I couldn’t even kill myself. Drugs kept me isolated from others, and I didn’t dare look in the mirror—it was too painful to see what I’d done to myself.

Becoming what God created me to be
But then I came to Nancy’s Place, the Mission’s women’s shelter that serves 42 women every night. I thank God I’m one of them, because the love, caring and compassion at Nancy’s is overwhelming. It’s a place where God is allowing me to see myself as I once was—and what God has created me to be.

I also want to thank the many donors who do so much to give us the tools to get our lives together. The only way I can ever respond to this kind of love is to start giving back to others—which I’m anxious to do. I want to create a ripple effect of love because of what God has done for me.