When someone hits rock bottom, the thing they need most is someone to help pull them up. Donna, a recovering addict, found that at the Y.
Donna’s rock bottom moment came on the steps of a local church more than three years ago. Homeless with two young children, she found herself on the steps of a church one cold winter’s night. She asked the pastor to help her, and he did, driving them to a local homeless shelter. It was there she faced the facts of her addiction and began her recovery.
She’d taken the first steps to a better life for herself and her children, but they needed a safe place to learn, grow and play during the summer. A friend told her about the summer camp at the North Oakland Y and suggested she consider it for her children. “I had no funds to pay for camp,” she says. “I never thought they would have help for someone like me.” For the first time in her life, she asked for financial help, and thanks to the Strong Kids Campaign, she got it. Her two children, Luke, now 12, and Judy, now 8, spent their summer learning, growing and playing — and most importantly, enjoying a sense of normalcy that had not been a part of their lives. Donna says proudly that she could really see the character development in them from their camp experience.
“Luke and Judy have been through a lot, but they survived thanks in part to the North Oakland YMCA and now they are doing better than ever.”
Donna recently moved out of state with her children to pursue a new opportunity.