Meet Ashley

Ashley was just 9 years old when she lost her mother. She and her brothers went into foster care and were separated. Despondent, traumatized, and alone, Ashley was desperate for an escape from her pain. With no other support available to her, she turned to drugs for relief. 

“I was consumed by feelings of rejection,” she says. 

Ashley moved to Pensacola hoping for a fresh start, but the new location only heightened her loneliness. “I didn’t know anyone,” she says. “I was all by myself.” 

Then – when she was at rock bottom – someone told Ashley about Waterfront Rescue Mission. She came for emergency relief: food, shelter, and clothing. Two days later, she joined one of our life-changing programs.

“It was so important to have someone I didn’t know welcome me with open arms and offer to help with anything I needed. I knew that even if the Mission didn’t have all the answers, they would help me find the resources I needed.”

“I felt a lot of love and community here.”

Now, Ashley is in our work training program. When she arrived, she didn’t have an ID, birth certificate, or Social Security card. She is working on getting back all that lost documentation so she can build a better life and reach the goals she has set for herself. 

“The Mission is showing me the next steps I need to take to be a productive member of society,” she says. “Before coming here, I was lost. Now I have a path for my future.”

Thank you for loving neighbors like Ashley “as you’ve loved yourself.” Your kindness has reminded her that she is not alone and that a better life is possible! “I’m thankful for the Mission, because they gave me hope. Now I know I’m no longer alone.”

To read this issue of Waterfront Mission Rescue News, click here.