Diocese of Austin • Winter 2012
Newsletter of the Office of Pro-Life Activities and Chaste Living 2 • From the Director And the Word Became Flesh*
4 • Around the Diocese Angels Among Us*
5 • Our Lady of the Angels Maternity Shelter*
6 • National News
A Beautiful Choice* 7 • A Nationwide Call for Healing after Abortion*
8 • Special
The Death Penalty: We Cannot Overcome Violence With Violence*
16 • Calendar of Events * Tambien en español
“It Saved My Life”
Maternity Shelter Aids Women, Families
A
by Janice Gibbs
mber Erickson readily admits she made some questionable choices during her life, but time spent at a Temple maternity shelter has served her well. She now has a job she loves, a home to share with her children, a great relationship with her family, and self respect. Erickson was four months pregnant with Devin, now 10 months, when she moved into Our Lady of the Angels Maternity Shelter in Temple. She learned of the shelter through a friend. “It (the shelter) saved my life,” Erickson said. “I was at a very bad point in my life and didn’t have anywhere to turn.” Erickson was escaping an abusive relationship. Devin’s father is now serving a 10-year prison sentence, which is a godsend, she said, because it had been so hard to get away. “You get told so often that you can’t do it, that if you leave you’re not going to make it and you’re going to be all alone,” Erickson said. She always had her family, but Erikson said she felt it was impossible to turn to them because she had pushed them away so many times. “Leaving the relationship made me grow up fast, because I had always depended on someone else,” she said. Much of that sense of independence was learned at Our Lady of the Angels Maternity Shelter with one-on-one counseling that served to build up Erickson’s self-esteem. She also learned problem solving. “Just learning how to communicate and getting It’s the best feeling you’ll ever out and looking for a job was helpful,” Erickson said. She now works full-time at Cheeves Bros. Steakhouse get — that you got out and that as a bartender during the day and server in the evening. “It’s very nice and I work with some great you’re doing it on your own. people,” she said. Residents of the maternity shelter are taught to focus on themselves and do what’s best for their family. Erickson said during her stay she made up her mind that her life was going to change. “I was all about making a better life for me and my kids and I would never put us in that position again,” she said. Erickson has two other children — Hannah, 7, and Hayden, 4. It was a difficult journey, leaving the known for the unknown. “It’s very hard, but the payoff is wonderful,” she said. “It’s the best feeling you’ll ever get — that you got out and that you’re doing it on your own.” Erickson said her life can be exhausting but she wouldn’t have it any other way. Erickson was eight months pregnant when she left the shelter. She and her children lived with her brother until she got on her feet. “I have what I want,” she said. “I’m sure things can always get better, but right now I have a nice home, I have a good job, I have my kids, I have my family. If this is all I ever get I’m happy.”
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