28 May Peggy’s Story

We thank Peggy for telling her story below. It’s one of resilience, and we are happy to be a small part of her big success.

It all started two years ago. I was in an abusive situation that wasn’t getting better, I thought I could handle things. I was still working at that time, I have always worked my whole life. Things in that situation got worse and I ended up having both of my feet broken. I wasn’t able to get around anymore, I lost my job, lost everything.

I had enough money to stay in a hotel where I ended up being attacked. I didn’t feel safe there anymore, so I ended up living in my car. At that point I was just living day by day. When I was finally able to get into a shelter, I was able to stay one month until I had to leave. That isn’t a very long time to get your things in order. I was able to get into another shelter for a short time but I knew I needed to leave the area to get a fresh start, so that is what I did.

I came to Springfield and was able to stay at (a shelter). Just after I arrived to Springfield, my car broke down so I no longer even had that. During that time I met Kari, at OACAC, who started working with me. She got me a referral to (an apartment) and I just fell in love with this place. I was told the wait may take some time because the list was already long. I ended up staying at (the shelter) for four days when I got the call that I was accepted at (the apartment.)

I decided I wanted to give back, I am someone who knows every situation is different and I have seen others in bad situations. I have been volunteering at (the shelter) for a few weeks now and I love it. I recently got a job and I am now working on getting my car fixed.

I still have bad days. It isn’t always easy to stay positive but I always tell myself you just gotta keep smiling. You have to want your situation to get better and to work at it for that to happen. But there are angels everywhere who will help, I have met that at this agency and other agencies in town. You have to keep going because life is too short to quit. #CSBG#CommunityAction