Success Stories

Women’s Refuge ALICIA*

AMERICAN GOLD STAR MOTHERS OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY

570-885-2811 ircgoldstarmoms.org

MISSION: To support veterans and their causes and to help other Gold Star mothers with their loss

MAIN EVENT: Annual Walk-A-Thon for Military/Veteran Suicide

Awareness, Nov. 7, 2021

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: Help at walk-a-thon, outreach to members

Founded: 2019

CARE NET PREGNANCY CENTER OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY 772-569-7939 carenetchampions.org

MISSION: To provide compassionate help and practical support for those facing unplanned pregnancies and post-abortion stress, as well as education, assistance and prevention of teen pregnancy

MAIN EVENT: Wonderfully Made, Nov. 9, 2021; Walk for Life, March 2022

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: Client advocate, receptionist, special events committee member, baby boutique volunteer, bulk mailings and grounds maintenance

Founded: 1984

As a child Alicia learned to be independent, and as an adult she took great pride in being able to take care of herself. The absence of a father figure to trust and rely on exaggerated her need for self-sufficiency. After a time, this survival mechanism left her feeling burned out, anxious, fearful and guilty. She reached a crisis point at which she felt as if she were “dying”; she was “emotionally, physically, financially, mentally and spiritually broken.”

Alicia entered the residential program at the Women’s Refuge, where the structured and disciplined environment required her to face her fears instead of running from them. “I had to realize nothing but an intimate relationship with my creator would help,” she says.

As Alicia began to think of herself as a child of God, she found gratitude, peace and joy rising up inside her. “I felt like I was finally walking as the real me.” Her family saw the changes in her and expressed their delight in the “new” Alicia.

The counselors at the Women’s Refuge guided Alicia toward a change in outlook that has filled her with a renewed sense of meaning and purpose, and she is enthusiastic about her fresh start in life.

*Name changed for privacy