What is your mental image of homelessness? The face of those we serve might surprise you. Many of our residents have only experienced one episode of homelessness and do not want to struggle with that way of living again.

Adult residents at Abilene Hope Haven range in age from 18 years old to the mid-sixties. Children are under age 10. Homelessness affects people from varied races and ethnicities as well as economic and educational backgrounds.

Some residents are recovering from drug or alcohol addiction. Others are single parents unable to support their children on minimum wage. There are almost always multiple factors that play into a person becoming homeless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyko9tahVA0

“Gave me my life back”

Kena became a drug addict while living in Fort Worth. She went in and out of rehab for some time trying to get clean for her three kids and her mother, but never found the motivation to do it for herself. Then came the day she ran into her ex-boyfriend, who asked her a simple question that changed her life: “Kena, are you tired?” She suddenly realized that after years of struggling with her addiction, she was exhausted. Continuing life in the same way was no longer an option. “I knew it was finally time for me to get it together,” she remembers. Kena called Serenity, a rehab clinic in Abilene, and was devastated to learn that it would take 8-10 weeks to be accepted into the program. She prayed to God, unsure of how she was going to last so long. Miraculously, within a week she got a call saying she’d been accepted into the program, and Serenity was even gathering donations to help get her from Fort Worth to Abilene. Kena successfully made it through the Serenity program, but a week before her graduation she realized she had no place to go. She knew that going back to Fort Worth would not provide the supportive environment she needed to continue her rehabilitation, and she wanted to stay sober.

Kena was able to move into Hope Haven the same day she graduated from Serenity. Since being at Hope Haven, Kena has stayed clean and sober, has excelled at her new job, has been able to provide for her family, and has even bought a car. Upon graduating from Hope Haven she plans to enroll in college courses. She says, “I thank God that I wound up here. Hope Haven gave me my life back.”