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Gabriella

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If you met Gabriella today, you would never guess that she once struggled with addiction and lived under a building to survive.

She says, “I was the psycho woman walking down the street barefoot with my hair all messy and talking to myself. It was a hard, quick fall into homelessness.”

Gabriella’s spiral began when she lost her job and was evicted from her apartment. Then, her daughter was taken from her. She became completely focused on regaining custody of her daughter, using all of what little time, money, and energy she had left. But it wasn’t enough. Little by little, all her resources dwindled away. That’s when depression and anger kicked in.

Gabriella went from motel rooms to shelters and tents on the side of the freeway. She became addicted to drugs.

Eventually, Gabriella moved to a tunnel under a building in Garden Grove, desperate to escape the looks of judgment from people living normal lives. She began to believe that being a drug addict was her only identity.

Ultimately, Gabriella decided the only way out of homelessness was a chance to be a mother again. She prayed to God, “If you give me a baby, I’ll get off the streets.” Soon after, Gabriella and her boyfriend found out she was pregnant with her son.

Today, Gabriella has walked out of the darkness and never turned back.

She no longer worries about surviving on the streets and is focused on being the woman and mother God created her to be.

Gabriella says, “I can be a mother again. I can be a working citizen again. I feel human. I felt like I didn’t matter before. And now, I know I do.”

She is now thriving and is employed full-time. It’s a long day with riding the bus to and from work, and Gabriella’s journey to self-sufficiency is not over yet. She is putting into practice all that she has learned, and she’s saving money to prepare for the next step and move out of Village of Hope.

Gabriella’s story is a testimony to God’s miracle-working power AND your generosity. Because of you, her hope, her purpose, and her life have been restored.

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