Life was a blur for Lakita when she first came through the doors here at Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries (DRMM). She knew she needed help but she didn’t know where or how to begin to unravel all the awful things that had taken over her life.

The day we met her, Lakita had just worn out her welcome with the only family member who had wanted anything to do with her. The streets would be her home that night.

Worse still, she had lost custody of her children. And that loss was so painful to bear that it was the catalyst that led Lakita to ask for our help.

She told us she wanted to quit drugs, rebuild her life, and become a productive and independent member of society. But most of all, she wanted to reclaim her children and give them a real, loving home. “I want to live for my children and not for myself,” Lakita says.

We took Lakita in and gave her a safe place to call home while she began treatment for her addiction. We also gave her the tools she needed to change her life from the ground up. It wasn’t easy, but her commitment was strong and bolstered by newfound faith in Christ.

Today, Lakita is working and living independently. The 30-minute commute to her job via public transportation was grueling, especially during the bitter cold of winter, but she never complained.

So you can imagine Lakita’s surprise and joy the day Chad Audi, DRMM’s President, made the gift of a car to make her life a little easier. The car had been gifted to DRMM for just that purpose—to help someone like Lakita make the leap from homelessness and helplessness, to independence.

Lakita is still in the process of getting her children back, but she knows they will be back with her soon and has built a proper home for them she can’t wait to share.

Of her many blessings, Lakita is especially thankful for the gifts and prayers of friends like you who made her fresh start in life possible. “You help a lot of men, women, and children. Your donations are not in vain, they do so much good in so many ways,” she says.