Testimonials
"I think for me to regain my life, my children, myself, that I need a place like Liza's Place. I have no family support, no financial support and no spiritual support. In other words, no one, no money, and nowhere to go. If I have no help and nowhere to go, I will be tempted to fall back into my old lifestyle." -Testimonial of Virginia |
Sheila moved from Denver to Colorado Springs in 2003. She was raised Catholic and went through catechism, confession, communion, and confirmation like all other children in her denomination did. Early on she took a strong position in her home as the protector of her mother and her sister. She is a tough woman that has two beautiful daughters. Her eldest lives with Sheila’s ex and her youngest lives with Sheila’s Mom. She had a history of periodic drug use but nothing serious Enrolled in school for medical assistant, her busy schedule caused her mother to offer to care for her youngest child fulltime while she studied for her degree. Once she agreed her schedule was freed up to get into all kinds of trouble. Things looked really great on the outside of her life but the secret life was very different. She went to school and held her 3.9 GPA, but on her off time she started stealing and using meth to stay awake and get things done. After her college graduation things started getting out of control. The fake life was fading and the truth was coming to the surface. From autumn of 2006 to early spring of 2007 she was getting busted almost every two weeks. There were numerous charges filed against her and warrants issued for her arrest. In February of 2007 she was pulled over for running a light and she was in a stolen car. Sheila was arrested and couldn’t bond out. Over the next three months other charges started surfacing for her and she was refused a bond reduction. Instead it increased. The only family member to visit her was her mother. She felt as if she lost her children and her family was angry and wouldn’t forgive her. The thoughts of fear and frustration gnawed at her mind constantly, affecting her emotional state and her behavior. She kept thinking, “At what point do you see the light?” Then her cell mate gave her the address to Liza’s Place. She wrote the Program Director who called and went to visit her at CJC. When she spoke to her attorney about the She felt like disappointment to her family and the tighter they tried to rein her in the angrier she became. Because of her lack of control she was put into 23 hour lockdown for 30 days. She kept asking weeks she refused to leave her cell. On her knees she looked up and just pleaded to God for HELP. The only thing she could have with her was a Bible, and she began to read in all day every day. Sheila actively sought out the peace of God. When the 30 days was over she finished her 12 months in CJC and went before the Judge again. She was offered 12 years in prison or the chance to enter The Stout Street program for 2 years. Sheila accepted Stout Street. The program is not Christian based and is “very in your face and intense.” The angry emotions began to surface again and she left after 30 days. Two days after she left she went to visit her probation officer. Her probation officer immediately tested her for drugs and she was clean. God kept her safe from temptation and made her strong in a different way. Now she was coming to her P.O. for options instead of running off. She came to Liza’s Place in February of 2008 and waited for two weeks until she could see the judge again. While she was here she started her Bible studies, going to church and praying with the women in the house. She sought the peace that only a relationship with Christ could provide. We prayed over her before she went to court that day. She said, “I am grateful to God for the crash that stopped me.” The prayers were answered and the judge assigned her to Liza’s Place for one year. She graduated the regular program in August of 2008, and continues to be a great support to all of the women living here. Once she was permitted she began transporting women to appointments and helping with house projects. As a senior lady she accepted responsibility for many things and never let us down once. Immediately she became knitted into the fabric of this program. We are grateful for the example of how the Lord can change anyone’s life as long as they submit to His will and follow His way. Sheila is a great friend and an inspiration to newcomers to the program. Her plea for mercy has “turned her mourning into dancing…clothed her in gladness… that she may sing praise to the Lord and not be silent.” (Prov. 30:11) She wanders the house singing “my God is an awesome God” all day long. |
Dear Friends, I am very grateful for the availability at Liza’s Place at a time when I so desperately needed a place to go. I never knew that such a place existed and how much this home was needed for my spiritual and emotional well being. I came into my present situation through alcohol abuse and a suicide attempt. After being hospitalized for ten days, there was no where to go and still no desire to go on. Family, though supportive, was unable to care for me in a manner that I desperately needed. It was only by the grace of God that Liza’s telephone number was given to me during my hospital stay. If it were not for the extreme kindness of Liza’s Program Director and her willingness to speak with me; on numerous phone calls from the shelter, her home and cell phone; I honestly do not know what would have become of me. She even made personal visits to me at the hospital during my stay. I was born in San Mateo, California on July 31, 1957 to Shirley and Harold Barnes. My parents divorced when I was 5 years old. My mother married Robert Stewart a year later. My step father Robert then adopted my brothers Harold Dean, Ralph and myself. My grandmother Edna and my aunt Carol were Sunday school teachers and laid the foundation for my faith in Jesus Christ. |