Stephanie - 2019 Graduate
She just graduated from South Georgia House of Hope this summer. But, freedom was not always where she lived...
Stephanie Kelley comes from what would described as a “normal” home. Her dad, mom and siblings loved her. She remembers being fifteen years old, having friends and preparing for the tenth grade. Then something happened that rocked her world. Maybe it shouldn’t have, but it did.
Stephanie’s dad got another job in another city and state. It was a real step up.
Who could have known that the move would open the door for upheaval in her life. “It had nothing to do with my family,” she says. “It had everything to do with my
choices.” Stephanie hid the fact that she was angry for moving. Her anger grew and she became rebellious.
To cover the loss of her friends, and lack of happiness, she turned to alcohol and marijuana.
She made all new friends, with all the wrong people.
Amanda - 2015 Graduate
Amanda is married to her best friend and soul mate. She is a mother to 6 beautiful children. She and her husband are buying their first home. Each day she wakes up thankful for her blessings. For Amanda, life is so good! But it has not always been this way... Amanda found healing at South Georgia House of Hope. “I grew up starving for love. My dad was abusive and alcoholic. He was abusive to my mom and all the children." As a young girl, starving for love, Amanda went on what she calls a “man- hunt.” That brought her to her first pregnancy at 17. She quit school to care for her son. The child’s father couldn’t help. At 19, she was pregnant with her second child. “I was mad...I didn’t want it.” Even though he was abusive, I stayed with my partner because I thought it was the right thing to do. After that child’s birth, the abuse escalated. “At that point, the need for a man’s love enveloped me. Another partner introduced me to meth. He and I connected through drugs.”
This was a connection that would last exactly 30 days.
Michelle - 2010 Graduate
I came to the House of Hope July 11, 2009 and completed the program July 22, 2010. Hopeless, I had all the makings of an alcoholic, spending time in and out of AA meetings and rehabs, only to fall many times. My life changed the day Sandy from the House of Hope told me, “If you believe that God made you, what makes you think He can’t fix you?” It was in that first moment that I had hope. Of course God can fix us! While in the program, I learned how to have a real relationship with God. My life is amazing today, not only because of what God has done, but because of what I know He will do. In Jeremiah 31:3-4 it says, “The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful. ” I am joyful today. I am free. Thank you, Jesus.
Amanda - 2006 Graduate
In 2005, at the age of 20, I came to House of Hope with fear and a broken heart. Since I had
been in three programs before this one, being court ordered to House of Hope was God's
protection over me. After spending nineteen months at House of Hope I completed in October of 2006 and have seen God's continued provisions in my life. Upon my completion, I enrolled in college, got a job, and steadfastly became the woman of God He created me to be. After taking interpreter sign language for a year at a school in North Carolina, I desired more tools to be able to help others. The Lord opened a door to pursue a degree in Sociology here at Valdosta State University. I am now married to an amazing husband with a beautiful son named Oliver. I fully enjoy being a wife, raising my son, and motivating others by being a fitness coach. I want to tell you that transformation is possible: I believe if you truly allow God to change what is in your heart, the rest of your soul and body will follow. My favorite verse is “I CAN do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me”. Philippians 4:13
Kimberly
My name is Kimberly and I turn twenty-nine years old this month. I was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, where I enjoyed growing up in a large family as I am the youngest of five children. There was something going on at all times and life was pretty chaotic as you can imagine. A traumatic event took place in my life when I was thirteen years old that left me looking for love and acceptance in all the wrong places. My home that I once felt secure and safe became an empty and desolate place and for the first time I experienced loneliness. I entered high school feeling very insecure and unstable. I immediately got involved with the social scene and became very rebellious. I became dependent on alcohol, smoking cigarettes, men, and other people. In 2005, I graduated high school and I moved to Myrtle Beach, SC. This would be the beginning of a major downward spiral in my life. I could not get
away from the party life.