How Having a Stable, Safe, and Affordable Place to Live Has Affected My Life
Shirley Jenkins, age 43

Having a stable place to live has given me an inexhaustible supply of confidence within myself. I now have the enthusiasm to explore my dreams, challenges, and goals. Being established has brought me hope and meaning to a new life, as if impediments of growth have been removed and now a generous supply of nutrients have been given, and I can expect to grow. I am no longer intimidated by my fears.  Instead, I apprehend my fears into captivity, and I let go of what makes me stop.  Living in a firm place has shown me how to be self-sufficient and how to approach my responsibility with commitment. I am now engaged in my responsibility to do what is obligated of me.

I once used to think of myself as a balloon filled with carbon dioxide and could not rise, but now I am a new balloon filled with helium and immediately I go up. My life has expanded in an astounding way. I have encountered many dwelling places, but none with the presence of stability. Given the opportunity to live in a safe environment allows me to reconcile with reality. My life was once laminated with guilt, shame, and unachievement. I have experienced compressing under heat.  Now I have inherited an imperishable amount of self-esteem. Residing in an affordable place has given me the privilege to become a budgeter, and I have discovered perspective in a way like never before, and have reclaimed my life. Living in a stable, safe, and affordable place has affected my life tremendously.