You can help families feel safe.

You can help families feel safe.

You can provide a home. You can provide a future.

Last Christmas, my mom told me to pack a bag quickly. He would be back soon. She hid the bag behind a pile of old boots in the back of the closet – it was a place he would never look. It would be months before I would see my stuff again. It would be months before I would feel safe enough to sleep and to play, to think about school and my friends. 

My mom was waiting for a room in a safe place. She said we were on a list.

But there was no waiting for dad. That last night, we knew we had to go right then. Right that minute. We might not get another chance. Christmas would be someplace else this year.

The YWCA changed my life.