When it came to family, Chantel didn’t know the true meaning of the word.

Her dad overdosed on drugs when she was a young girl and Chantel was left with other people while her mom went to work.

Eventually Chantel had kids of her own and was the sole breadwinner for 11 years, while her boyfriend threw money away.

“I was scared for my kids to go through the same hardship I did,” Chantel says. “Being stuck with other people while my mother struggled to get by. I didn’t want that for my kids, I want them to be surrounded by family all the time.”

But Chantel’s relationship wasn’t getting any better. Her boyfriend became abusive and continued to lose all their money. The family was struggling to get by.

Deep in depression and hooked on pills prescribed for an injury, Chantel nearly took her own life…

“I got on my knees to pray because I couldn’t let my kids see me like that,” Chantel remembers. “Then, on my phone I found this app to [Orange County Rescue Mission].”

At the Mission, Chantel and her kids have clothes and meals, and a roof over their heads. Now she has discovered what has been missing all of her life – stability, safe refuge and sense of belonging.

Today, Chantel volunteers at the Concordia Learning Center helping children whose parents are going through the Mission’s programs.

“Kids [are] coming here broken. They’re also Hurting.”

Your generosity helped give Chantel and her kids a new beginning. Because her life was transformed, Chantel wants to give back to the kids at the Mission to get what she did not have as a child: structure, affirmation, and guidance.