She Found a Place to Begin Again

Aly did not come to Safe Places for Women looking for a place to hide from life. She came looking for a place to begin again. “Safe Places has given me a stable place to thrive and grow in,” she shared. “I’m transitioning into real life while I’m here.” 

For Aly, transitional housing is not simply somewhere to stay until life starts later. It is where life is being rebuilt now: slowly, with intentionality, and safety.

“I think a lot of people imagine you just stay somewhere for a while and then transition into ‘normal living’ once you leave,” she explained. “But I’m trying to transition in the beginning so when I get out, I’m already used to it.” When she graduates, all that will change is her address. She will have already built a community of connections, supports, meaningful employment, and a faith community that she is a part of.

Then she said something I will never forget.

“This is my childhood home.”

Not because she grew up here. Because, for the first time, she feels like she finally gets to. She explained that she didn’t have a safe place when she was young. There weren't people there teaching all the life skills and lessons that she needed to learn. So, she gets to experience that now.

Inside the safety and stability of the home, Aly is discovering who she is beyond survival. She is building routines, learning how to rest, building her connections to community, and finding the freedom to make mistakes; without fear that everything will collapse around her.

“I get to relearn myself,” she said. “I get to find out who I am in a safe environment. If I fall, I have a safety net to fall into, so when I do go back out there, I’m not falling flat on my face.”

Today, her weeks are full.

Monday through Thursday, she attends AnnieCannons, a highly selective trauma-informed coding school for survivors of trafficking. After months of applications and interviews, she was accepted into a virtual program that trains survivors for careers in software engineering and development.

“Safe Places gives me a safe place to go to school and build a stable career for me and my children,” she said. Aly has children that she hopes to be able to invite to come visit and/or live with her once she’s graduated from our program.

Alongside school, she attends recovery groups, meets with a psychiatric nurse practitioner, works with an occupational therapist, attends a recovery group at church, participates in house groups during the week, and is even picking up part-time marketing work selling gutters while rebuilding her identification documents after years of instability.

And perhaps most importantly, she is finally exhaling.

“Safe Places has given me a place to rest,” she said quietly. “A place where I don’t have to worry about where my bed is or what I’m going to eat.” For a long time, even basic stability felt out of reach.

One of the highlights of her week is community dinners on Thursday nights. A couple of staff members along with a mentor or other volunteer will bring in dinner. They will cook and eat together on the patio. It is such a fun time to share and laugh together. 

Since arriving in Colorado, she has received medical and dental care like she never imagined possible. She shared that she had been misdiagnosed for years and is finally receiving the right mental health treatment and medication support. “I’ve never felt so grounded and okay in my life,” she said.

Her dreams now are beautifully simple. She hopes to continue building a career she can do remotely while caring for her kids. She dreams of a small home in Colorado; a peaceful life with stability, peace, and connection with friends and family.

And even as she looks ahead, she already knows she wants to come back and give back.

“I want to still have a connection with Safe Places fifteen years from now,” she said. “I’m going to volunteer too.”

Stories like Aly’s show us what is possible when a Safe Place exists for survivors to go. They can begin again. What was lacking in youth, can be provided now. Their stories have hard days and experiences, but also so much hope as we look forward to the next chapters. 

Because of your support, Aly is not just surviving.
She is rebuilding.
She is resting.
She is learning who she is again.

And one day, she will help others do the same. 

We are so proud of you, Aly, and can’t wait to see where God takes you.