The atmosphere in the hotel room grew darker with each passing minute. Sherry had spent seven horrible days holed up in a hotel. “I had been getting high the entire week,” Sherry admits.
“I had run out of hope. And I was absolutely miserable.” Triggering that weeklong high was when Sherry’s mother, her biggest supporter, told her not to come home or call again. Sherry reveals, “My rock bottom was when my mom told me I couldn’t come back.”
Sherry reflects on the moments that led up to her mom’s rejection: “Growing up, my dad was an alcoholic. Whenever he came home, he was drunk.” But Sherry’s mother was her stability. “My mom was fantastic. She worked swing shift to be home when I woke up for school.”
Nevertheless, Sherry began rebelling as a teen. At 16, she got pregnant. Then was married at 19. However, Sherry’s husband shared a startling resemblance to her dad.
“My husband was an alcoholic. And he was extremely abusive.” To withstand the physical and emotional abuse, Sherry found that drugs offered a temporary solace.
“At 22, I moved to Seattle fleeing domestic violence. But that’s when my addiction became very bad.” In the greater Seattle area, Sherry struggled to provide for herself. “I just had a high school education, so I became a stripper. And that was extremely hard on me.”
The next 20 years of Sherry’s life were a blur of survival where drugs were a constant way of coping. During that season, Sherry experienced homelessness. “I slept in the woods. I was on the streets. I got arrested just so I could get some comfort indoors. I was miserable.”
When Sherry arrived at Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission, she finally surrendered her efforts to figure out life on her own. She needed something different. She needed hope.
“What I really loved about the Mission is that I learned how to set boundaries, and speak up for myself. I used to be scared of success, but now I believe in myself.”
Today, Sherry’s walking a different path. It’s a path where she’s not alone. She’s connected to others and has restored relationships. “I’m so grateful to the Mission. They were there to walk beside me and help me.
Now, I go to church regularly. And God is the center of my life.” Instead of leaning on drugs to calm her stressors, Sherry’s learned to lean on the Lord whenever addiction attempts to draw her in. “I depend on God for everything. I listen to His still, quiet voice in each moment.”
When Sherry was lost, thank you for helping her find a path to hope and healing. Your gift of Thanksgiving season meals and care will help more people like Sherry.
"I was hungry. I needed a meal and I needed rest. The Mission provided all that. While I was in the Men's Recovery Program, I saw some changes in me that I really liked.
“The Mission has really given me my dignity back. It helped me find a way out. I made a promise to God that I would serve Him and do the best. Today, clean and sober, I’m helping people through hot, nutritious, and delicious meals, as a chef at the Mission, one bite at a time.
"This Thanksgiving, we're really excited because we're opening our doors again to the public, so really anyone that's in need of a warm meal for breakfast or for dinner is going to be welcomed with open arms. We believe that something as simple as a Thanksgiving meal can ignite hope!
"I pray that everybody's going to feel God's love and comfort and that hopefully there won't be any whatever heartaches people are feeling—just God comforting them."
— Dean Way, Food Service Director
Bless a neighbor this Thanksgiving — Every $2.80 you give provides a meal, care, and hope
Many of our homeless neighbors feel lost, broken, and battered by the storms of life.
Your gift of meals and care can reach our neighbors with life-changing hope. Every meal and care costs $2.80 — and can lead to life-change. Your gift of meals and care can bring healing, family restoration, and even salvation in Jesus Christ. Thank you for giving generously today.
