For some women, like Gertrude*, a changed life starts with deciding to live inside our doors, rather than outside.

“I was on drugs, lived on the streets, and ironically, I turned around and came right back down here just about ten years later and ended up back in a situation, sleeping on the sidewalk.”

She’s slept on the sidewalk and lived on Skid Row on two different occasions, one that lasted for four years. She has been employed and saved, but the company closed down, in time for her to discover she had a serious medical condition, and no family to turn to. Too many medical visits for a single diagnosis and enduring debilitating symptoms from prescription drugs, she’s been caught between paying a medical bill and keeping an apartment. Her body has shut down and she has literally come close to death.

 A loving friend from the dark past had found the light. He found her and invited her on a journey that would bring her clarity and, eventually, to Union Rescue Mission.

 Gertrude is a living miracle.

…………………..

 For some women, like Gertrude, a changed life starts with deciding to live inside our doors, rather than outside. “I was on drugs, lived on the streets, and ironically, I turned around and came right back down here just about ten years later and ended up back in a situation, sleeping on the sidewalk.”

Down, Up, Down,

Gertrude first was homeless in skid row in the late 1980s. For four years, she lived and slept on the sidewalk, selling items to pay for a drug habit. Eventually, she joined a program at a nearby mission, and eventually found work. Making only $8-10/hr, she was still able to save, but not for long as the company was soon forced to close. Though they gave her unemployment pay and enough to stay in her apartment for 6 months, she unexpectedly got very sick the next month when she found a knot on her neck. A doctor diagnosed tuberculosis and she took medication - until it gave her acute kidney failure

Gertrude ended up in the hospital for 15 days and almost died. In recovery, she struggled with deep sadness as she realized she was near the end of her 6 months saved income. She was so sick when she was released from the hospital she didn’t have the money she needed to pay her rent.
 
 Between battling with kidney failure and several trips back to the hospital, Gertrude was psychologically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted. Discouragement from losing her job led to depression when all of her savings were eaten up with medical bills and she couldn’t work. The depression led to despair as each step forward gave way to two steps back.

 Gertrude reflects back on that time, "After losing my apartment and being in the hospital, I just let everything go and came down here to downtown." Reverting to old coping mechanisms, Gertrude returned to living a life literally on the streets, surviving between drug hits and deals.

 One day a friend from her past experience on the street stopped by in his truck – he was now a truck driver for a living and doing really well in life. He invited her to come on the road with him and she finally consented. “It was the most beautiful and peaceful journey of my life and I decided I didn’t even want to smoke drugs anymore… He was like my guardian angel – the first gift he ever gave me was a Bible.”

For the love of a friend

 Through his friendship and this journey, Gertrude detoxed, joined a sober living program, restored her physical health, lived in an apartment on her own, and finally had enough strength to move out of despair. “It was like somebody just came right along and took me out of the madness and I got clarity… After awhile, I didn’t want any drugs - I just wanted to ride, meet all kinds of people, see God’s earth and all that He created, and look through clear eyes.” With clarity in full view, her truck driver friend revealed to her on their drive back to California, “You’re strong enough. Now, you can do it. You need to try and get all of your business together – try to get you a place.”

Hope

 “I got here at Union Rescue Mission early February and got a 30-day bed.”

 Gertrude stayed with us for 30 days, allowing the Emergency Services to fit her needs and while realizing where she had come from. “I have no taste [for drugs] anymore when I walk around here. All of these streets down here, I have smoked on and slept on – every doorway, every street, every alley – up and down here.”

 Gertrude enrolled in our Second Step Women's Program and got a new set of teeth. “I used to keep a lot of drugs in my mouth. So, my teeth were a total mess and deteriorating. Through Union Rescue Mission, I got my teeth fixed. They pulled all my teeth and gave me a brand new set.”

 Through an Eimago program, Gertrude took a job development class and has found employment and stability once again. She is saving up to move out on her own.

Reaching Out

Meanwhile, Gertrude won’t forget where she came from and those who are living the life she used to live. “God has been good to me. I’m only here by the grace of God.”

Gertrude can be found encouraging those on the street – those she used to know from her former days – to seek a better life, believe in themselves, and hope and plan for a better tomorrow.

Update!: In February, Gertrude completed Union Rescue Mission's Second Step program for women and moved into a place to call her own.

*To ensure their privacy, names may be changed and images may not match stories.