How Sarah survived 4 years on the streets – barely!

You may wonder who is counting on your Thanksgiving meals this year. Well, it’s people like Sarah. Born in Lynnwood and raised right here in Everett, she grew up watching the father she loved brutally beat her mother. She got out of the house as soon as she could. Then she tried to create the family she really wanted.

She was a stay-at-home mom, married for 19 years, and kept her five-bedroom house immaculate.

I should mention she had 14 children.

“I did so well for so long, but I masked how overwhelmed I was,” she said.

Then her husband left. She sunk into depression.

“I mentally self-destructed,” said Sarah.

A few months later, Child Protective Services took her children away – less than one week before Christmas. So began four agonizing years on the streets of Everett. She had never been homeless before. Ever. It was like a lamb to the slaughter.

She was beaten up and robbed multiple times.

She asked random strangers to buy her food.

In fear for her life, Sarah walked endlessly each night, wrapped in a blanket against the cold.

To say she was utterly broken when she came to our door is an understatement. Although she still grieves the loss of her family, she is able to be part of their lives again. They have all been placed in wonderful homes and five of them are well-adjusted adults. Sarah never misses a Bible study. Although she had a hard time forgiving herself, she knows Jesus forgives her.

“I truly believe that I’m here because God put me here,” she said of the Mission. “I’m so grateful to be able to sit at a table and eat a meal and have it be hot.”

Please pray for Sarah as she still has a long road ahead. This kind of damage doesn’t get repaired overnight.

But the transformation does start overnight . . . with that very first meal. If you would like to help with Thanksgiving meals, you can provide them here.

Thank you for all you do and your compassion for people experiencing homelessness. Your support is a blessing to so many!