When Sandy was young, her parents broke up, and her father disappeared from her life, making her believe she wasn’t worthy of love. “I had such low self-esteem,” she say. “I was really hurting.”

In high school, Sandy began seeking acceptance from the wrong crowd. “I felt my worth in being a party girl,” she says. “My dad was an addict, and I was drawn to his lifestyle. It was a generational curse.”

For 20 years, Sandy walked the road her father had taken, leading her far away from family and into abusive relationships. “I was seeking validation, but traumatic things happened to me instead,” she says.

Then she became a mother, and she couldn’t bear the possibility that her children might follow her footsteps. “I realized I was the only one capable of breaking the generational curse.”

It was then Sandy entered our New Beginnings Program, where chapel services, Bible studies, and Christian counseling led her to a life-changing encounter with Christ. “I was in darkness, but now I’m shining His light,” she says. I have so much joy and hope and peace, and God has healed me of any kind of trauma from the my past.”

Along with Sandy’s newfound faith, parenting, and other life skills classes have helped her become the kind of mother she’d always hoped she’d be. “I didn’t know how to discipline, but they taught me to make wise parenting choices. Now my boys look at me with respect.”

A graduate of the program, Sandy successfully completed the Mission’s Internship Program and is now a full-time staff member on the women’s guest services team, caring for those who are where she once was. She is the first face that someone meets when they first come into the Mission and the women who come into the Mission always praise Sandy for going above and beyond to help them in their journey.

Sandy has found her Jeremiah 29:11 and she is determined to share the Good News with other hurting women in our cities. “Now I know I’m a daughter of the most high God. He has a purpose for me. My future is bright!”