Geneva’s path to homelessness and incarceration began at an early age. “I started smoking pot at 13,” she says. “When I was in my 20s, I started doing meth, and my husband was very abusive. He liked to hit on me all the time, and beat on me, and for my escape I used drugs.”
As is the case in many abusive relationships, Geneva had a very difficult time breaking free from her abuser. She stayed with her husband for 17 years, even suffering a miscarriage due to his beatings, before she and her three kids were able to escape. Though free from him and the abuse, however, Geneva still struggled as she experienced homelessness for the first time. “We were on the streets for two and a half years,” she says. Still, though, “I did not want to go back … I didn’t want (my children) to see what their dad did to me.”
Geneva’s life spiraled further downhill when she was caught crossing state lines with meth in a vehicle. This led to a 26-month stint in federal prison. Still, she says, it was “the best thing that ever happened to me … Because God loved me enough to save me from myself. I truly believe in my heart He put me there because He wanted my attention, and He got it. Praise the Lord.”
Geneva says her transformation was hard in the beginning. She’d had a relationship with God in the past, but she had walked away from Him. She knew, however, that He hadn’t left her, and that left her at peace, and content, even while being in prison. “I knew God was right there with me the whole time. That’s when my real relationship with Him began.”
After her release from prison, Geneva eventually found her way to the Mission. At first, she was only planning to stay for 90 days, but then she noticed “these ladies just had this beautiful inner peace about them … They were so happy and calm, and I wanted that.” Geneva asked to stay and complete the Women’s Recovery Program at Hope Place, which she did. After graduating, she joined the Mission’s Graduate Internship Program, where she began to see that God had her at the Mission for a purpose. Now, she works as the Guest Services Supervisor at Hope Place.
Geneva doesn’t allow her past to bring her down now. “There are so many things from my past that I would like to change, but I know God was there with me the whole time … He carried me.”
Geneva loves her life now, and she loves giving back through her job at the Mission. “Since I’ve been through the program, I can relate really well to (women in the program), and I just love having a relationship with them … I’m actually relaxed when I talk to people about my story because my mess is a message.”
Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission has been serving the homeless population and helping the lost become found for over 90 years. Their vision is to see every homeless neighbor — beloved, redeemed, restored. Find out more here.
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