I applied to get into Crossway in 2012. I was accepted into their program but turned it down because I was gonna try and work out with my kids' dad and he wouldn't be able to live with us at Crossway. I didn't want to break apart my family so I gave up the spot. In 2014 I applied again after failing to work things out with my kids' father. I went to the orientation and had a meeting with Crossway. I was homeless, jobless, had no car, and was pregnant again. I didn't get accepted because I didn't have my GED yet. They said if I went out on my own, while homeless and pregnant and with small children to care for, by the way, that I could reapply and they would consider taking me in. For a place that is supposed to help mothers in my position I could not understand how they thought I was going to survive out there in my position. My kids have never been in school or day care and I knew someone that lived there and saw how her kid was so much more advanced than my own child of the same age. I felt hopeless for my children and our future. All I was asking Crossway to do was to give me a chance to better my life. I ended up in a one room shelter for a few months where we had to be out every morning and could come back to sleep at night. So me and my kids wandered the streets, hung out at the mall and at parks, and waited until it was time to go back to the shelter. I ended up meeting someone from a church and shared my story. They helped pay for me to move into a one bedroom apartment and paid three months of rent ahead of time. They gave me clothes and toys for my kids. While at the new apartment, I one the HOC housing lottery! We now have our voucher and I have had my new baby. My children's father is still not helping us but we are getting our own place now. I am hopeful for the future and excited to have a place were my kids and I don't have to all sleep in one room together with a twin bed. No thanks to Crossway, once we have a place of our own, I can put my kids in school, get my GED, and move forward with my life.
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