Stories

Featured Story

Now He Can Say, “I am Shimoy!”

Saying Goodbye to Shimoy the Rancher In another life, Shimoy was a rancher of goats, camels, and cows. He insists that he loved all the animals equally, keeping no favorites. The land was beautiful and green, situated between the two largest rivers in Somalia....

Khadra’s Discovers Her Independence

At 25 years old, Khadra left her home in Somalia, seeking safety and better access to medical care. Her options in Somalia were limited. “I stayed at home mostly. For one, I’m disabled, and people tried to limit my ability. Two, there was a war going on, and I was...

Wilfrido’s Next Step Forward

Wilfrido was walking down the street more than two years ago when he saw the sign: English Learning Center. He walked inside, down the stairs to the school basement, and enrolled that same day. When asked why he feels that learning English is important, he laughs as...

Here Comes the Sunshine After the Storm

By the time Ivi* became homeless, she’d already endured more trauma and loss than most. She’d lost her mother, kids, dog, car, job, apartment, money—even her church community. She says, “It was my first time being in the street. I didn’t have anybody. I had nowhere to...

Now He Can Say, “I am Shimoy!”

Climbing Out from Rock Bottom

Peter Hits Rock Bottom The day Peter became homeless was the day he hit rock bottom. He had already reached an emotional low after years of debilitating health issues, compounded by the stress of his collapsing marriage. Becoming homeless, he says, “was just the last...

You Must Have Hope and Keep Going

I never got to go to school before. Right when I started going to my first school, the civil war started in Somalia. It was a terrible, dark time. Everyone was running for their life. I was very young then. We left Somalia and went to Kenya. Life in a refugee camp is...