written by Suzi Jacobson, Stepping Stones advocate and 12-step bookstore manager
“The worst thing is never the last thing.*” In other words, hope is real! There are plenty of kids and adults who have come through Stepping Stones’ shelter who now claim abundant hope; they didn’t when they arrived.
I have talked with residents whose world was positively collapsing around them; they did not see any hope for the present nor could they imagine holding out any for the future. Many became depressed, lonely, addicted and deflated from constant emotional, physical and mental abuse as well as personal addiction.
Yes, the shelter is a safe place in the storm of cruelty, shame and abuse. But it is so much more than that. It is where the worst thing in life fades into the past and hope takes hold in the present. It happens that way because a lot of hard work and self-discovery goes into the program of change that Stepping Stones offers. First and foremost, our residents engage in honest self-inventory, assess self needs, and establish healthy, supportive relationships. They finish school, train professionally, work successfully, maintain and balance finances, learn new parenting skills and continue programs of growth after they leave Stepping Stones.
Hope is very present in the shelter and throughout the community of Stepping Stones… it’s our number, in fact: 928-445-HOPE (4673).
*Frederick Buechner, author and theologian
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