I met #Kathleen in an agency that provides help for seniors in need. Her story is crushingly painful to hear. I can’t imagine the terror of living in an environment in which there is sexual abuse from a father and her siblings. At 13, Kathleen would gave birth to a child that was the result of being raped by a brother. In tears she remarks, “My home was a living nightmare. If I had it to do all over again, I would have reported the abuse so that I could have been taken from this living hell”. 
She would fall prey to drug abuse and ran from this pain for years. Bad choices sent her to jail, where she was robbed of any remaining self-worth. Kathleen is self-conscious about having lost her teeth to methamphetamine and looks forward to a denture that will return a smile. The center providing respite from the street has helped her to feel like a human-being again. Says this 56-year-old, “The people here are great. They are nice and have made me start to feel good about myself again”. She pauses and then suggests, “I just want a normal life”

#ihaveaname

THE I HAVE A NAME PROJECT
www.ihaveaname.org
www.facebook.com/THEIHAVEANAMEPROJECT 
www.instagram.com/theihaveanameproject