Rachel’s Journey Through Home Again
When *Rachel made the decision to leave an unhealthy relationship for the sake of her daughter, she had no idea how difficult the road ahead would be. Without a safe place to go, she bounced from hotels to acquaintances’ homes, doing whatever it took to keep her little girl sheltered.
“You could never relax. You always had to impress, clean, or worry about how my kid acted. She could never just be herself.”
Exhausted and desperate, Rachel heard about Harvest House’s Home Again program. Skeptical at first, she applied anyway, and two days later, she had a home.
“When I found out I got in, I cried for a day,” she said. “It was the first time I could breathe again. For once, I felt safe.”
The Power of Therapy
Home Again gave Rachel housing and stability, but it was therapy that truly changed her life. At first, she resisted the idea.
“I thought if you went to therapy, it meant you were weak,” she admitted. “I didn’t want to talk about things.”
But little by little, she opened up.
Therapy became the anchor she didn’t know she needed.
“Gosh, therapy was like 80% of my journey,” Rachel explained. “I don’t think I could have gotten through the mental things standing in my way without someone making me feel safe enough to feel my emotions.”
One phrase from her therapist still carries her today: “Give yourself permission.”
“Even now, when things get hard, I hear those words,” Rachel said. “Give yourself permission, it’s okay if today isn’t a good day. That changed everything for me.”
A Village She Didn’t Know She Needed
Alongside therapy, Rachel was surrounded by support she hadn’t realized she was missing.
“I finally felt like I had a village that I didn’t even know I needed.”
Life-skills classes and a case manager encouraged her with parenting support, financial guidance, and, most importantly, belief in her future.
With their encouragement, Rachel enrolled in medical coding school through Harvest House’s **2GEN education track, which enables parents to attend school without the added burden of rent. For Rachel, it was the only way that pursuing her dream was even possible.
Balancing parenting, work, and school felt impossible at times. “I remember crying and saying, ‘I can’t do this, I can’t take care of my kid and go to school.’ But my case manager just said, ‘If you don’t want to quit, just keep going.’ And that’s what I did.”
Rachel leaned on the Harvest House food pantry, saved every penny she could, and kept pressing forward. “Because of the support system around me, I passed my CPC test on the first try,” she said proudly. “I never thought that would be possible.”
A Home Filled with Joy
Today, Rachel is working in medical coding, a career she enjoys and describes as “like detective work.” Her confidence has grown, and she’s determined to give her daughter the stable life she deserves.
Now eight years old, her daughter finally has space to be a child.
“She loves having her own room, running through the house like it’s a mansion, and singing with her little microphone,”
Rachel said, smiling. “Before, I was always telling her to be quiet. Now she has space just to be herself. She’s happier. We both are.”
Rachel’s next goal is clear: homeownership. “I want to own a home,” she said. “After leaving someone who had a home and not having one to go back to, I don’t ever want to be in that position again. It feels impossible sometimes with how prices are now, but I’m determined. That’s my dream for my daughter and for me.”
Why Your Support Matters
For Rachel, Home Again was more than just housing. It was safety, healing, therapy, and the discovery of a community she didn’t even know she needed.
“If I hadn’t had therapy, classes, and people walking beside me, I would have talked myself out of this long ago”.
Because of generous supporters, families like Rachel’s are rewriting their stories, moving from fear and instability to strength, dignity, and hope.
🎧 Listen to full interview here.
*Name changed to honor the privacy of the family.
**Harvest House is proud to offer the 2GEN Education Track thanks to the generous support of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Their commitment to the 2Gen Approach makes it possible for parents like Rachel to pursue education and career goals while providing a stable home for their children.
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