In Yvette’s own words…

I was born to an alcoholic father and a very criticizing mother. My early childhood was spent watching my mother be abused and our family moving every few months because of my father's drinking. By the time I graduated high school, I had been in 11 different schools between Washington and California. My parents divorced when I was in 2nd grade and my mother remarried and started another family. Most of the time I was growing up I felt unloved and in the way. I started running away from home when I was 11 years old.

I married the first time when I was 16 and had my first child a couple months before I turned 17. I managed to finish high school and eventually made it to community college. I married several times and most of them were abusive and drank like my father. I was also very much like my father in that I started drinking and drugging when I was 12 years old.

The summer of 2002 found me out of a job and homeless and in yet another abusive relationship. We stayed in a friend's backyard under a bunch of tarps that we threw together over on Othello and Rainier Ave. in South Seattle. All my unemployment checks were spent on drinking and drugging.

I don't know exactly what made me decide that I'd finally had enough, but on October 29, 2002 I came to the UGM Women and Family Shelter. When I came here I was very sick from all the garbage I'd been putting into my body and from a severe sinus infection from living outside.

I felt so alone and hopeless. My family didn't want anything to do with me. They'd heard many times before that I was going to quit what I was doing, and I would for a little while, but then I'd go back out again.

I'd given my life to Jesus when I was in I was in high school but after awhile I fell back into my old ways. Slowly, as I went to the bible classes here at the mission and started attending church regularly, it started sinking in that Jesus loves me. I mean he really loves me! All that self-destructive behavior and the lying and stealing didn't matter to him. I was forgiven! And I started "feeling" like I was forgiven! Slowly my family started liking to be around me! Especially my oldest daughter. She's really something special and I could go on and on about her, but that's another story!

After 2 months in the mission I applied to go into the Oaks Program. That's 9 months of bible classes, recovery classes and counseling. I graduated "Oaks" back in October 2003. Now I'm doing an internship at the mission and my life is really good! I like myself now. I've made new, good friends. I'm teaching a bible class on Tuesday nights and I LOVE that! Most of all I love our Lord Jesus and I'm so full of gratitude because I know it was Him that brought me here! I am so thankful that there is a place like the UGM Women and Family Shelter, other wise I don't know what my life would be like today.