“I imagined being here would feel like being part of a big family. I was even ready for there to be fights because that’s just what happens in big families sometimes, but it hasn’t been this way. It’s been way better.”

Free to focus on fourth grade and “just be a kid”, Avery can’t stop raving about the temporary home he, his mother, and two siblings have found as participants in the Children’s Hope program.

“If it weren’t for you, I know I wouldn’t be in a good place at all right now. It’s actually hard to think about. Now, I feel like I’m going to be a lot more successful in life and more prepared for anything that comes my way.”

“I know how to own up to my mistakes now and how to change. If I hadn’t come here, I would have been in a bad place, but now I can see myself going to college and getting a good job, doing everything I can think of that makes life better for people.”

“I still struggle with doubt, but I’m learning most people do, and that helps. I’m growing spiritually, and I know without faith, I wouldn’t be where I’m at now.”

“I believed the doctor who said I would die if I had another baby. I felt like if I went ahead with the pregnancy, I would be taking my children’s mother away from them… It was awful!”