Grande Prairie’s Emergency Shelter & Supportive Housing Centre

I felt so alone, I didn’t know who to turn to. Who would understand? At the shelter, they completely understood what I was going through. I don’t feel so alone now.

I received so much support with my kids. They taught me that my children were hurting, and showed me how I could be there for them. Everything is so much better now.

There are times when we just cannot cope with what is happening in our lives. We lose confidence easily, we feel bewildered and carry with us a feeling of disappointment. When we feel like this, when we are distressed within ourselves, we have to learn new ways for coping with our lives. We have to search for New Beginnings. We have to find new ways to help us find peace and contentment once again; new ways to help us make a richer life for ourselves. We will never know what we can do, how we can change our lives-unless we try, as we make our lives, if only for a while, a journey of New Beginnings.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve learned a lot about what it means to love myself again and not be afraid to be alone and to be a single mother the workers here are so amazing. I’m blessed to be here and have them in my life.

I remember when I told one of our clients her move in date, she teared up and said "I just want to go tell my kids we have a safe home now."

The staff that came in really made me feel important, and that I wasn’t alone.  More than that, they let me know that I am not responsible for the way that my ex has treated me, and that there are people that care about me and my well being.

I didn’t realize that this was happening in my own town- you always think that it doesn’t happen in your own back yard.  I would like to be able to do more for my community and am really happy that I had my eyes opened to this.

It wasn’t until we looked at what healthy and unhealthy relationships look like that I realized that I, myself and living in an unhealthy relationship.  I guess I need to go back to the basics and decide what I want for myself and my children before I can move on.  This course gives me the courage to believe that I can give myself and my children and better life.

This course really opened my eyes to how women are treated and how my doing nothing can contribute to that negative action.

Odyssey house is a great community resource for the vulnerable people in our community, they are a great asset to have in our region.