I grew up in Falls Church, VA and spent a lot of my time in church growing up. I loved attending church and I still do. In my two-parent household, I experienced some domestic violence as a child. Church was my escape from the terror that I witnessed.

It took years for me to come to grips with the fact that I had a mental illness. I hadn’t had a stable living situation since the passing of my mother in 2007, so more than 20 years. That’s how hard it is. Since her passing, I’ve only been stable for a few years at a time, and then it was right back to the streets.

I was arrested on several occasions for trespassing while I was homeless. The last time this happened, I was connected with Pathway Homes services. I had been arrested and hospitalized, so if it hadn’t been for Pathway Homes, I don’t know where I would be today.

I know that I definitely wouldn’t have a stable place to live and maybe would have been arrested again for trespassing by now. I would probably have been in jail again and back in the hospital. If it hadn’t been for Pathway Homes, I do not know where I would be today.

The future is uncertain but I know that I want to do my best every day to maintain the stable lifestyle that I have now. With the help of Pathway Homes, I truly believe I can do that.

– LaToya