fundraiser
Spring Forward MN
$0 Raised
Rachel's Light successfully opened September 2019. Since opening, we have received over 124 referrals and have provided housing for a combined total of 46 women and children. It costs approximately $415 per day to operate Rachel's Light. We not only provide shelter but also support and a place of belonging for those who have found themselves without a place to call home. The women are provided with a mentor that can follow them when they leave our home to help them maintain their self-sufficiency. Please help us to bring the homeless home and show them that love wins!
A Success Story: My Journey
By: A Former Guest at Rachelâs Light
Rachelâs Light has helped me in so many ways that I am grateful to them forever. Â Since I moved to Rachelâs Light, I gained so many things Including my physical health, my mental health, and continued sobriety. Â I have had so much help from Rachelâs Light staff that I have been able to obtain a vehicle, receive disability benefits, see my grandchildren again, and perform some work. Â I am grateful for the big heart the staff have here at Rachelâs Light to help me recover from some of the darkest days of my life. Â They try to help people in any way they can. Â They are a blessing in my life. Â I am in the best place I have ever been in my whole life. Â
My story starts when I was raped at the young age of 15. My perpetrator planned the rape which left me with a lifetime of scars.  I started using drugs to cope with the trauma of the rape; stealing from my parents, in an out of treatment which helped for only a short time until I started   feeling the pain of the rape again.  At 16 years of age, I found myself pregnant.  I was so young, and I did not know much about being pregnant.  I used throughout my pregnancy and I had no real idea that it would affect my child.  I went to treatment twice, sending my  daughter into the foster care system and me on probation for breaking the law.Â
When I turned 32 years old, I had decided I had enough, and I wanted to change my lifestyle. Â I stopped using and got on my knees and prayed to God to take my addiction away. Â I started attending church services and then someone in the church took me to a meeting and this is the first time I started to feel better. Â I was scared and afraid to share my story with others. Â I was providing foster care services for adults in my home at this time. Â I was active in my daughter and grandchildrenâs lives. Things were going well for me and then my daughter started to take pain medications, and this escalated to heroin use. Â Â
Soon, CPS was involved, and the kids were removed from her care. Â I took them into my home and provided care for them, but the county terminated my daughterâs parental rights and they were placed up for adoption. Â We knew the family that adopted them, and I trusted them to continue to allow me to be a part of the kidâs life since I had been sober for many years and was working. Â
One day, the kids were just gone. Â The family that had adopted them had vanished and I could no longer have contact with them. Â They cut all ties with me and I gave up. Â I packed everything up that I had and ended the lease where I was renting. Â I thought my life was over. Â I tried to find an alternative place to live but without much hope or will to live I ended up at the Dorothy Day House in Rochester. Â I stayed for a short period of time before I was in a car accident. Â Several hospitalizations and several other homeless shelters I came to live at Rachelâs Light. I am finally in the right mind. Â I finally have reconnected with my grandkids. Â The support, love, and big hearts at Rachelâs Light mean the world to me. Rachelâs Light has helped set me up for success. We have worked together as a team, and I now have SSI. I also can proudly say I will be moving into my own place as of March 1, 2021. I am forever grateful for all that Rachelâs Light has done for me. Love Wins
Organization name
Rachels Light
Tax id (EIN)
82-2481115
Categories
Children & Family, Community, Emergencies
Address
PO Box118