Nearly every Thursday for the past fourteen years, six friends, Melissa, Cissy, Lynn, Maureen, Christy, and Beth walk into our building, roll up their sleeves, and get to work sorting the donations that will eventually become someone’s warm coat, clean shirt, or first outfit for a new job.

Freedom isn’t always a clean break. Sometimes it comes with a shadow: the kind that clings to you long after the gate swings open. When Kyle walked out of prison after years behind bars, he stepped into a world that had changed while he was standing still. Nothing was familiar anymore. Not the streets, not the pace, not even himself.

Finally having her own apartment has been a turning point for Saudah, elevating her atop a platform of renewed self-awareness and belief. She can see where she’s come from and where she’s headed, rising above the shadows of her past toward a life of hope and healing.

Renee never imagined she’d find herself sleeping in her car; She was a successful business owner, a dedicated mother, and an active leader in her community. At one point, she served on church committees and was preparing to open a nonprofit. “I wanted to find a way to help families get assistance,” she explains. “It’s relatively easy for individuals to get assistance, but it’s really hard for families.”