Imagine being a normal teenage girl, hanging out with your friends and practicing your cheerleading routines every day. Loving life. Then one day, all of a sudden, the car you are riding in goes careening off the road. Imagine waking up one day, five months later, with no recollection of your life.
This is Sheyanne’s story.
After the accident, everything changed. All the things we take for granted became an exhausting effort. It took eight months of rehab before Sheyanne was able to walk, talk, and eat on her own. Despite the odds, she has one of the most amazing spirits we have ever seen.
When she first came to the Mission in December 2013, Sheyanne was very shy. Afraid of judgement, she didn’t want to talk about her trauma. But, surrounded by kindness and support, she slowly opened up.
“I’m normally not the type of person to ‘talk about my feelings.’” She says. “My thoughts were if I tell anyone, people would judge me. But that’s not what the Gospel Mission is about. ”
“They’re not here to judge a person, they’re here to help people, bring them back to being whole.”
Talking about how she felt lifted a weight off Sheyanne’s chest, and she soon became a bright light in the Mission, well loved by staff, volunteers and other guests of our shelter. “I would not be the person I am today without them. I’ve made amazing friends, friends that will be around for the rest of my life.”
Now this brave young woman is living on her own and thriving. She works weekly with an occupational therapist to get her fine motor skills back to normal, and despite living in Rutland and having to bus a long way to the Mission, she volunteers with us several times a week.
“I love my job here, and I love where I am at in life! I believe in God and have a very strong faith. I hope that I can get into school and hope to become a Caseworker someday. I want to help people because this place has inspired me to help people to get out of bad situations.”
Donations like yours directly help people like Sheyanne find support and become whole again.
Sometimes, the best way to start the healing process is a meal. You can help nourish hungry bodies and hurting souls this Christmas. Please give generously today.