After leaving my Aunts we started in on the Domestic
Violence Life. We were at the first shelter, yes I said first, for 2 or 3
weeks. I ended up getting kicked out over not emptying the dishwasher on time.
They had this notebook where you could tell them when you were going to be gone
so they did not schedule you a ‘chore’ at that time. However, they decided to
ignore the fact that I was gone most of the time for work and school. So I got
wrote up for not doing chores. My mom and son got kicked out about 2 weeks
later over pretty much the same thing.
After leaving the first shelter I ended up spending 2 ½
weeks on the couch of a friend from Church. I was only supposed to stay with
her for 2 days since she was moving, but she opened her heart to me for longer
than originally planned. So to help play her back I helped her with the move,
unpacking, and giving her someone to talk to while she went through the
stressed of the empty nest and moving from a house to an apartment. I could not
have been more grateful to her for letting me stay with her. It meant so much
to me! But after 2 ½ weeks with her it got to be too much and she had asked me
to find someone else to stay.
I ended up finding the second shelter through the advocates
at the hospital. My mom had taken me to the hospital because I was sick and told
them my situation, my mom and son had already found a new shelter, and the
advocates helped me find the next shelter I was to stay at.
I was nervous about going to a new shelter but I knew I
needed somewhere to stay. I just didn’t want to go alone. I wanted to stay with
my mom and son. This shelter ended up being amazing and I loved staying there.
They had a counselor for me to talk to, they had group therapy for all of us
women that were there, and they helped us look for jobs. About a week after being
there I get a panicked call from my mom. Her and my son had gotten kicked out
of their shelter because she gave my son a cough drop. She was not able to find
a new shelter and she was in the parking lot of Jack in the Box at 10pm. So my
shelter helped me call CPS to make sure it was ok that my son moved into my
shelter with me, since my mom had custody of him still. CPS said it was fine
and I was able to move my son into the shelter I was in. I was beginning to
love who I was, I could see how beautiful I was, and I was becoming a stronger
mother and woman. I was so proud of the advancements in myself while I was
there. But, that was about to end soon.
About 2 ½ months after being there I got called into the
office to talk to the director. Someone had found me at the shelter and
threatened my life. Great. So for safety reasons my son and I had to find a new
shelter to go to for out safety. I couldn’t believe I was going to have to
leave this place before my time was up. I had met so many great people and had
grown so much. So I called my mom in a panic and told her what was going on.
She told me there was room at her shelter and told me they were expecting my
call. So I called them and thank God they were able to get me and my son in
there the next morning!
So, onward to the third shelter for me, and the fourth for
my son. They welcomed us with open arms, my mom was there, and I was scared but
happy to be back with my mom. The shelter was helping me find somewhere more
permanent to live with my son, they were helping me figure out how to get
custody back, they were also helping Elijah as much as they could with his
issues. But our time was coming to an end there quickly and I had no idea where
I was going to go. That is when my dad told me to figure out how to get home
and to live with him. I could not have been happier! I was finally getting to
move back home and be where I felt the most comfortable! My son and I moved
back to our home state 2 days after my 27th birthday. One of the
best birthday presents I have ever gotten!
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