Lindsay's Story
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I grew up in a rural area outside of Chicago. I was living in my family home, but there were a lot of problems, and it wasn't working out. I eventually ended up having to move out, and I found a domestic violence shelter that offered referrals to other programs. One of the referrals they made was to the Harbor, so I stayed there for a while. The Harbor wasn't the best fit for me, so I only ended up staying there for a little bit. One of the participants who used to live with me at the Harbor recommended Connections to me. There was a lot of collaboration between the programs and organizations that made the transition easy.
I met my caseworker Pedro at Connections. He’s very supportive. I recommend him as a caseworker. I recommend all you guys, actually! I moved into Our House in early 2022. I lived there for about two and a half years, I just recently moved out. Connections helped me with a lot. Connections helped me with budgeting and personal finance, even with small things like my grocery bills. They also helped me to get a job. Now I have two jobs. Right now I work at Valley and Goodwill. |
I also ended up being able to graduate high school just this last year while I lived at Our House. I wasn't originally enrolled in high school growing up. I was homeschooled, and the idea of going to a school gave me a social anxiety, so it was difficult starting school and suddenly being surrounded by 3,000 other students. I ran into a lot of obstacles during my freshman year — because of these mental health issues, plus my age gap. It was a struggle.
When I got to Our House, it felt like a dark cloud was parting. I was going through so many things that were dragging me down. It’s hard to have to completely uproot yourself and move somewhere else. But Evanston is a very supporting city, and I had a lot of people around me who encouraged me. A couple of the staff at Our House had a really big impact. I started to really strive to get that diploma. That was a big goal for me.
Now I’ve graduated high school, I’ve graduated from Our House, I’m living in an apartment in Evanston, and I'm going to start my first year of college at Oakton in August. I feel like this program has really given me a second chance to focus on myself and grow. I don't know what I would do without programs like these. I look back, and I'm like, wow, I don't know how I did that. I don't know where I even began to know how to do that. I just held on and pushed forward.
When I got to Our House, it felt like a dark cloud was parting. I was going through so many things that were dragging me down. It’s hard to have to completely uproot yourself and move somewhere else. But Evanston is a very supporting city, and I had a lot of people around me who encouraged me. A couple of the staff at Our House had a really big impact. I started to really strive to get that diploma. That was a big goal for me.
Now I’ve graduated high school, I’ve graduated from Our House, I’m living in an apartment in Evanston, and I'm going to start my first year of college at Oakton in August. I feel like this program has really given me a second chance to focus on myself and grow. I don't know what I would do without programs like these. I look back, and I'm like, wow, I don't know how I did that. I don't know where I even began to know how to do that. I just held on and pushed forward.
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I’m still absorbing it. Every time I go by the high school now, I'm like, wow, am I really done? It still hasn't sunk in yet. I feel like once I get to college it will feel more real. I'm looking forward to college, and to meeting new people, building a bigger community, and getting my associates in fine arts.
I’m mainly looking forward to the art. I just love art. Art has definitely helped me a lot in this period of transition. I use art as either a coping strategy, a way to get out my emotions, or sometimes it’s just for fun, and to be creative. I have an obsession with knights. Something about them is so empowering. They give a sense of power and strength. I feel like it has something to do with the fact that my life has been hard in the past, and I went through a lot. To me, knights represent the part of me that was strong and held on while I was going through it. I’m actually majoring in the animation field, and I need to get my fine arts degree first. I always knew I wanted to do animation. As a kid, when I was very young, like maybe 3 or 4, I asked my mom, “Hey, how do they make cartoons? Like, how does it work?” And she said, “Well, they draw each frame.” And I said, “I want to do that. I want to do that when I get older.” In the beginning, I didn't really have a computer or technology or anything like that. I used to play with flip books, whenever I could get my hands on a piece of paper. But now, it's funny because I can just sit down when I'm stressed and just whip something up on an animation app in 15 minutes. |
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