Desiree felt helpless, lost and hopeless.
Desiree attended college, worked two jobs and had a hidden addiction to meth. Life became unstable as her addiction progressed. Before she knew it, she was living in her friend’s garage. Then under a bridge. Desiree was homeless for two years. “There were times I was so hungry that I would go to the closest Del Taco and ask people to buy me tacos . . .”
In and out of jail for theft and burglary, Desiree says she stole from dumpsters, abandoned buildings and garages to pay for her addiction. “I was always afraid I would get caught . . . I always felt lost, like I didn’t belong.”
She lost contact with her family and each day was a desperate search for more drugs.
But things changed when Desiree became pregnant.
Desiree was eight months pregnant when she came to Orange County Rescue Mission from Casa Teresa. “Being out on the streets, I forgot that God was there for me. I forgot all my dreams . . .”
But life changed beginning with a safe place to live at the Rescue Mission. And her spiritual life began to develop through Bible study, prayer and fellowship.
“Having my son here means everything . . . I named him Matthew because he is truly a gift from God.”
Desiree’s hope for the future is to get a job that will support her and her son.
“I wanted my whole life back,” says Desiree. Her advice to others on the street: “Come to the Rescue Mission when you’re ready to change your life.”

*We are in the business of rescuing the least, the last and the lost. We believe our work matters, because their lives matter.
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