Rebecca's Story

 I know what it is like to go through hard times. I know what it is like to live on the streets and to live with hunger, hopelessness and despair for years on end.

I became well acquainted with pain and trauma from an early age. I was born with a tumor on my foot foot and had to endure many painful operations as a child. I entered "the system" 30 years ago, at age 12. I bounced from juvie, to jails, institutions and prisons. I developed a 20 year heroin and meth addiction. I wound up escaping to Mexico, arriving in Tijuana on Thanksgiving Day, 2013, where I lived under a bridge for nearly a year, begging for coins from the tourists who walked overhead. I was stuck in Mexico with no food or shelter. There isn't even free water there! I desperately called my "family" for the first time asking them to please just send me $20.00. They told me that all they could do is pray for me. 

Imagine someone who had the odds stacked against them from birth. Someone who suffered physical, mental, and emotional abuse that later spiraled into the addiction process as a coping mechanism. I had no belief in a God that had seemingly abandoned me. I could go on and on about the suffering I endured but this isn't about me, it is about YOU and the message of hope that I bring to you.

One day, in jail, alone and half crazed from grief and a life of suffering, I found myself suddenly "waking up" at 42 years old and realizing that there had to be something more to life. It didn't make sense to me that I was born into this beautiful world only to suffer and die.  I decided on that day to go on a Spirit Quest to find my life's purpose. On that day I stopped being a victim and began my life anew as a Seeker.

One thing led to another and I found myself drawn to Sebastopol, a town with a funny name that I had only heard of in passing while in jail. Drawn here as if by some unknown force I met someone who was kind and compassionate enough to open a door to safety for me. He told me I had suffered enough and that I deserved love and happiness. Somehow the message got through to me. This was the opportunity I had always wished for. It was hard to believe something this good could happen to me but I resolved to do everything within my power to embrace my good fortune and justify the confidence in me and the help given to me.

It is now 1 ½ years since I walked through that door to a better, healthier and more spiritual life than I ever thought I could have. I have given up heroin, meth, alcohol and cigarettes and junk food. I meditate twice each day. I have a wonderful doctor through Santa Rosa Community Health and a caring therapist. And of course, I have my loving partner. I awaken with gratitude each day, thankful to a Higher Power that I have been given a second chance in life. 

Now, I want to begin to give back what I can. This project is the beginning. I want to fan whatever small fire of hope you still have flickering inside you. I want to let you know that, despite your current situation, the Grace of God is real. Do not lose hope! One day the sky will open to you and your current suffering will be a memory. IF IT CAN HAPPEN TO ME IT CAN SURELY HAPPEN TO YOU!