Mary
Mary was the youngest of four girls raised in a Christian home, but home was lacking in many areas.
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4 November 2011
2011 Dessert Fundraiser Enjoyable
If you weren’t able to make it to our annual dessert fundraiser, you missed out. Not only were we in the lovely Rosewood on Main with scrumptious desserts, but we also heard a courageous young woman share intimate details of her life that she’s kept secret for many years.
Shara’s childhood involved a father who sexual abused her and a mother whose own control and jealousy issues prevented Shara from really knowing her siblings. After her parents divorced, she started self-injuring at age 16. As her addiction to self-injury deepened, so did her depression.
“I fell into depression, planned to take my life a few times and the self-injury got worse. Living by myself, I could cut as much as I wanted with no one to stop me. My life spiraled out of control. I was angry at God, myself and the world. I was tired of living just to suffer,” said Shara.
Shara rode a bus for 34 hours to get to A Friend's House from Texas. She jumped into our therapeutic groups ready to do the work. “In a short time at the program, I was able to identify 60 negative lies I told myself every day. I worked to write the truth to each lie I believed through the help of AFH,” she said.
She outlined several lessons she learned while at A Friend's House through the groups, meetings with her advocate and sessions with our therapist. A few of her positive outcomes include:
· A relationship with her brother and sister for the first time in her life.
· A restored relationship with her mother, with whom she now talks weekly.
· An improved ability to socialize with others, and to be herself.
· A part-time job, where she’s getting to know community members and learning how to handle stressful situations.
Shara ended her speech by thanking A Friend’s House for the love and support. Then she turned to donors and said, “Thank you for the gift that changed my life, because I wouldn’t have been able to afford the right help if not for you. I used to think there was no hope and that life would not get better, but God has intervened and I thank Him for AFH.”
If you weren’t able to make it to our annual dessert fundraiser, you missed out. Not only were we in the lovely Rosewood on Main with scrumptious desserts, but we also heard a courageous young woman share intimate details of her life that she’s kept secret for many years.
Shara’s childhood involved a father who sexual abused her and a mother whose own control and jealousy issues prevented Shara from really knowing her siblings. After her parents divorced, she started self-injuring at age 16. As her addiction to self-injury deepened, so did her depression.
“I fell into depression, planned to take my life a few times and the self-injury got worse. Living by myself, I could cut as much as I wanted with no one to stop me. My life spiraled out of control. I was angry at God, myself and the world. I was tired of living just to suffer,” said Shara.
Shara rode a bus for 34 hours to get to A Friend's House from Texas. She jumped into our therapeutic groups ready to do the work. “In a short time at the program, I was able to identify 60 negative lies I told myself every day. I worked to write the truth to each lie I believed through the help of AFH,” she said.
She outlined several lessons she learned while at A Friend's House through the groups, meetings with her advocate and sessions with our therapist. A few of her positive outcomes include:
- A relationship with her brother and sister for the first time in her life.
- A restored relationship with her mother, with whom she now talks weekly.
- An improved ability to socialize with others, and to be herself.
- A part-time job, where she’s getting to know community members and learning how to handle stressful situations.
Shara ended her speech by thanking A Friend’s House for the love and support. Then she turned to donors and said, “Thank you for the gift that changed my life, because I wouldn’t have been able to afford the right help if not for you. I used to think there was no hope and that life would not get better, but God has intervened and I thank Him for AFH.”
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