Before I came to live in the city I had a rough history. My parents were abusive and awful and had me out on the street corners when I was really young. I ran away from home early and came to St. Louis to take care of my boyfriend, but when he died I had no place to go. I got married to a man I met while I was homeless, but he turned out to be abusive and mean, too. I left and started sleeping in Water Tower Park and ended up staying there for almost three years.

Then the ROADS team came and found me one day and arranged for a place for me to stay. They helped me get a housing voucher and an apartment.

I love living in my apartment! I can have pets which is great because I love animals. Right now I live on the South Side in an apartment with my dog, Betty Sue and my cat Tiger. I volunteered for a while at the Humane Society. I keep really active with a lot of volunteer jobs! I'm assisting at the Grace Hill Clinic to help women fill out their paperwork for mammograms. I'm also helping out other abused women at the Regaining Our Children center on Gravois. I'm in a long term relationship that I think is really good and healthy. I feel like I finally have the life I want.

I joke all the time with Don on the ROADS team that I'm going to get a tattoo with his name on it because he helped get my apartment and my life. I'm only kidding, but I'm serious about how happy I am now and how much I have appreciated everyone.