February 2016 Newsletter

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I Needed Some Place To Go

Brittney grew up in a single parent household with her mother. They both learned to be very independent, yet quite attached to each other. Brittney earned her GED when she was 15-years-old, then got a job. At 19, she was living on her own and became a single parent herself. When she was 21, something went terribly wrong. She said, “One day four years ago, my mom said she was tired. The next day, she didn’t know who I was. She went to the mental health state hospital for a while, I felt lost without my mom; we did everything together.” Brittney continued in her self-reliance, at least on the outside. By the time she was 23, she had a good job at a lumber mill and was buying a house and a new car. But she was still feeling the loss of her mother.

Then she said, “A couple years ago, I started hanging out with the wrong people. I just kind of lost my way for a while. I met these people, but didn’t know they were using (drugs). It was introduced slowly.” It filled the void in a very deceptive way, seeming to satisfy, but ensnaring in an addictive trap. She lost everything she had worked so hard to achieve. She said, “My house got raided for drugs. I got clean right away, but I was still flopping at a drug house. I have not used (drugs) while expecting him (my son).” Then in a separate incident, “ I went to jail because my boyfriend and I have a no contact order (because of my 6-year-old daughter), and I got caught with him. I was released from jail in June. I was crying. I was five months pregnant. I needed some place to go. I met two friends in a store that were at Samaritan Inn, and they seemed like they knew what they were doing. I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing. If he (my boyfriend) saw the baby, I could lose the baby.”

So Brittney went to the Mission’s Samaritan Inn. “Living here, I have gained a lot of integrity; the whole routine and structure is good for me.” Then she added, “There are a lot of mom figures (on staff) here.” When she arrived, we were still in our old facility. Of the new place she said, “This place is so much bigger. You can help so many more people. I like my room. I like the staff. The location is good; its close to DHS. I am so thankful for Samaritan Inn, because I will be getting my daughter back.” And since this interview, she has received custody of her daughter here. While living at Samaritan Inn, the time came due for Brittney to give birth to her son. She brought her newborn back here from the hospital.

“I love to sing, that is why I named my son Lyric,” she said, “I like it when Linda (Manager) does chapel and worship.” She then related herself to Ruth telling her mother-in-law Naomi, “Where you go I will go… and your God my God” Ruth 1:16. Brittney and Ruth had seen the guiding hand of God in the lives of ordinary people of faith. Through many sorrows, the Lord showed great truth and blessing. She said, “As a mother, I am going to teach my kids about God, that He will stay by their sides no matter what.”