You helped turn Shay’s life around. Shay, a single mother of three, had been searching for safety and stability for her family. After an altercation with her mother, the man she was seeing took Shay and her children into his home. At first, it seemed like a lifeline—but soon, that relationship also turned volatile.
After months of turmoil, Shay prayed in desperation: “I recognize that this isn’t the man You sent for me. Please help me get out.” The very next night, Faith House Program Specialist Edie Harmon called Shay about an opening in the program. It felt like an answer straight from heaven.
But leaving wasn’t easy.
When Shay told her partner she was leaving, he tried to stop her, and the confrontation ended with Shay being arrested.
When she was finally released with charges dropped, Shay arrived at Faith House exhausted and heartbroken. Edie remembers that moment vividly: “There was a desperate woman with three children at the door. She was overwhelmed, but grateful.”
Faith House Case Manager Tina Cullum recalls her first impression of Shay’s family: “There was a lack of structure; there was instability. But in the midst of all that, there was a sweet bond between Shay and her girls. They were a true delight to be around.”
Despite her exhaustion, Shay was determined to change. “Coming into Faith House was extremely overwhelming,” she admits. “I had to fall into Faith House’s policies and procedures.”
Learning to trust again—both God and the other women—wasn’t easy. But Shay was committed. “I wanted to push through and take advantage of all the opportunities the program had to offer me,” she says. “I had been sheltered, controlled, and enabled my whole life. I hadn’t experienced the world. Now that I am in the real world, I have Christ by my side. In difficult situations, I used to self-destruct, but with Christ by my side, I can see light at the end of the tunnel.”
As the days turned into months, Shay began to flourish. She found strength in community, healing in structure, and peace in God’s Word.
“I literally felt like I was surrounded with God’s love,”
Shay recalls. “They have devotions at night, and that was my favorite part of the day—when we got to talk about God’s Word.”
Her positive attitude and growing faith inspired others at Faith House. She showed her peers that even the hardest battles can be won. “The staff was amazing, loving, and supportive in every way,” Shay says. “I felt like I was at home.”
When it came time for Shay to leave Faith House, she felt ready to face the world. “They helped equip me with the tools I needed. Faith House wasn’t just a shelter or transitional living—it was my home.”
Today, Shay and her children are thriving. She’s working, attending school, and preparing to enter a sonography program. Looking back, she sees how far she’s come: “Faith House has a lot to do with where I am now—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.” Through your support of Faith House, Shay discovered not just safety—but freedom, purpose, and hope.
