Cara loved drugs, particularly heroin. But she loved her daughter more. “One day I woke up and realized I was 24 years old with a six-year old daughter that I wasn’t being a good mom to.”

“I had no car, no house, and no job,” she realized. “Nothing but a drug habit and a little girl.”

When “every fiber of my being” was ready for change, Cara came to the Mission’s Women and Family Shelter. For the next nine months, we offered her nutritious meals, safe shelter, guidance, and constant encouragement straight from God’s Word.

“The Mission taught me that God is real; He’s loving; and He’s merciful,” she says. “At first I found that hard to believe. I didn’t think I was good enough.”

But that was before Cara was introduced to Jesus.

“The other day, my daughter told me she was proud of me,” Cara says. “Here I left her all those times and she still forgave me.”

“At that point, I realized that this stuff is real!” she adds.

Today, Cara’s future looks bright. With the Mission’s help, she’s going back to school and one day hopes to become a drug counselor so she can steer others clear of the trouble she encountered. What would she tell them?

“I’d tell them they’re not alone,” she says. “Drug addicts are lonely people. They think that nobody understands them, and if someone did understand them, that they wouldn’t like them. Now, I know better,” she adds.