“SHERRY AT THE YWCA HELPED ME MOVE ON AND PROGRESS. SHE LISTENED WITHOUT BEING JUDGMENTAL, AND SHE REALLY CARED.”

Under the Influence

It wasn’t hard drugs. Or alcohol. I was smart enough not to get caught up in that stuff. It was what I believed to be love. But all the warm, mushy feelings just cloaked the fact that it was actually a mentally and verbally abusive relationship. This relationship led me to make some bad decisions. Decisions I’m not proud of. And like all bad decisions, they caught up with me.

Let me start from the beginning. At the age of 16 I was fending for myself. My mom and I got in an argument and she told me to leave, so I moved in with my grandma. My dad was also staying there, because he was rehabilitating from drug use. But I wasn’t ready to follow my grandma’s rules, so she got my dad and me our own place. We were kicked out of that place because our names weren’t on the lease. So I ended up homeless, sleeping in the hallways of apartment buildings or staying with friends.

The guy I was with was the only person I had to rely on and who was there for me through all of the craziness with my family. But he was a bad influence. He broke into people’s houses. At first, I was just a lookout for him, but then I started getting involved. In April 2011, I knew I didn’t want to live this lifestyle anymore, that I wanted change. He said he was on board with that, but at that point we had warrants out for our arrest. He suggested we do one more bust and then leave. It was during that last attempt in May 2011 that we got caught. He went to prison. I got a plea bargain and the opportunity to rehabilitate, so I went to a juvenile detention home.

Eager to Move Forward

My time in the juvenile detention home scared me straight. A lot of people who go to juvy don’t change and just end up back there. I didn’t want to be one of them. So I set out to learn from my past and move forward.

I met Sherry Brockway, Program Area Supervisor Criminal Justice/Advocacy Services and Education, at a seminar on abusive relationships. During that seminar, I realized how awful my relationship really was. I told Sherry after the seminar that I’d be interested in coming by the YWCA to talk more. Sherry and the YWCA welcomed me with open arms.

I basically graduated from high school in two years. During my time playing catch-up, the YWCA was my only release, my only time to relax and talk through things. I meet with Sherry there once a week. She’s helped me move on from that guy and the lingering issues of my past.

Now I’m a college sophomore studying international development. My goal is to help countries develop and use their resources, just as the YWCA is helping develop me into the person I’ve always wanted to be.

My name is Audrey, and now I help change the story.

Help From

With the generous help of the YWCA of Kalamazoo, Audrey was able to change the story.

Education

To give children the greatest chance to thrive, we invest in early childhood programs that help each child start school ready to learn.  We also support programs that provide quality child care and after-school activities, get families involved in their children’s education, and help children become leaders.

Income

We’re helping families become – and stay – self-sufficient by investing in programs that help them stay in their homes, through rental assistance, budgeting and financial counseling. We also help people become financially stable by supporting job training and retention programs, and through the Tax Counseling Initiative and the Emergency Food and Shelter program.