Linda’s Story: Helping women invest time in themselves
December 11 2020
Linda came to the YWCA in October of 2018 with her two children. When she first arrived, she was struggling with depression. Her life was all out of sorts. After the tragic loss of her mother, depression started to settle in and affect her daily life activities. Linda stopped doing the things that brought her joy. Her depression started getting in the way of necessary things as well, such as paying the bills and taking care of her children. Her struggles with mental illness pushed her to start consuming drugs. She kept this to herself and suffered in silence. After some time, Linda moved to the Niagara region and found the YW.
It was evident that she needed help to get back some of her self-esteem. FACS was involved and Linda needed someone to be a voice for her. Then, Linda and her children were brought into the On-Site Transitional Housing program. There was so much turmoil within Linda’s life, that she felt overwhelmed with her children and her ex-husband, who was her biggest challenge. With the support of the YWCA staff, Linda was able to develop skills to stand up for herself. Linda eventually allowed her children to go live with their father so she could work on herself. She completed a year in the On-Site program but still had a long way to go. Linda came back to the shelter to continue her journey, but the COVID-19 pandemic brought things to a standstill. Still, housing applications and phone appointments with doctors and counselors were put in place.
At this time, Linda has moved onto the YWCA Court St. Supportive Housing Program where she can live independently and work on herself without the distraction of shelter life. Linda is very thankful for the care and support that she and her family received.
