A PLACE TO BE FREE
A group of Post Secondaries on a hike
I’ve been a part of Inner Hope for over 10 years. I got involved because I was forced into it by my mother. She was like, “hey, go do this”.
The biggest milestone I’ve achieved in this time was that I lived. Around the time I got involved with Inner Hope, I was by no means a good guy. My day-to-day was “a bad dude doing bad deeds”. It went from that to joining in on whatever activity Inner Hope happened to be doing: swimming, laser tag, paintball, camping... Doing these activities was a way to lay low, instead of doing bad deeds. It kept me out of trouble. In a way, it became a place where I could just chill, instead of constantly looking over my shoulder, always feeling on the alert.
I was finally able to truly relax. Nobody at Inner Hope was involved in or knew about the bad stuff I was doing, and no one reprimanded me. I was free to be myself. It was challenging at first to let my guard down, but once I realized I was safe, I was finally able to relax. Being able to relax and not have to worry contributed me to staying alive.
At Inner Hope, it doesn't matter what your background is, they have a place for you. You don't need to worry about bad things from your background hurting you. It’s a great community.
The biggest milestone I’ve achieved in this time was that I lived. Around the time I got involved with Inner Hope, I was by no means a good guy. My day-to-day was “a bad dude doing bad deeds”. It went from that to joining in on whatever activity Inner Hope happened to be doing: swimming, laser tag, paintball, camping... Doing these activities was a way to lay low, instead of doing bad deeds. It kept me out of trouble. In a way, it became a place where I could just chill, instead of constantly looking over my shoulder, always feeling on the alert.
I was finally able to truly relax. Nobody at Inner Hope was involved in or knew about the bad stuff I was doing, and no one reprimanded me. I was free to be myself. It was challenging at first to let my guard down, but once I realized I was safe, I was finally able to relax. Being able to relax and not have to worry contributed me to staying alive.
At Inner Hope, it doesn't matter what your background is, they have a place for you. You don't need to worry about bad things from your background hurting you. It’s a great community.
Your gift of love can give young adults a safe place to hang out: