Raine – 2014 Graduate

My parents divorced when I was two years old, and my home life became very inconsistent. Eventually, my older sister and I ended up living with my grandparents. I wasn’t used to my grandparents’ sheltering supervision and became rebellious. By the time I was 10, I was using marijuana. I chose to move in with a friend who I did drugs with daily. One day, I was violated by a guy I looked up to as an older brother figure. I convinced myself that’s how guys were supposed to treat me. From that point on, I was regularly taken advantage of by different guys. In the midst of all of this, my drug habit spiraled out of control. I would manipulate people to get money to support my addiction. I quit going to school. Eventually all of my poor choices caught up with me. I was sentenced to supervised probation and drug court. Without drugs, I didn’t know how to function. My anxiety was more intense than ever. I really wanted to change, but it was so difficult to do while my circumstances remained the same.

I heard about Mercy through family friends, but at that time, I wasn’t ready to change. When I got arrested, Mercy was still in the back of my mind. A woman from church came to visit me while I was incarcerated and unexpectedly mentioned Mercy. That was confirmation for me that I needed to apply to the program. She said I had to be ready to change if I was going to apply. I was!

A huge turning point for me at Mercy came when I found out who God created me to be. I learned to let go of all of my anxiety and simply trust Him. Even my very best attempt to explain all God has taught me and done in my life through the Mercy program and staff would only minimize my experience.

After graduation, I plan on going back to school. I want to pursue my dream of becoming a probation officer.

To Mercy’s donors, thank you so much for all you do. Mercy has really blessed me. Your generosity makes Mercy possible, and I am so very grateful for that.