When you find yourself abandoned and alone, who do you turn to?
When you’re kicked out of your home, overtaken by addiction and despair, where do you go?
When life is falling apart, health is failing, and you’re at your worst, what do you do?
This paralyzing place is where we first met Meena.
After an inconsolable fight with her family, Meena found herself helpless and living on the streets of India. To cope with the heavy loss of her family, she took to drinking to numb the pain. Lost in the endless cycle of drinking to escape, Meena’s addiction became so severe her body began to shut down.
Alone on the streets, Meena suffered a severe stroke.
When the police found her, she was unable to walk or even lift her head off the ground. It was hard to tell if her nervous system would ever recover or if she’d survive. With no one to call and nowhere else to go, the police carried Meena off from the streets and brought her to the Home of Hope.
The Home of Hope is a homeless shelter where hundreds of people with mental and physical disabilities live and receive care. Many are near death when they arrive, and are welcomed into a safe space to live out their final weeks or months of life in peace and with dignity. But for Meena, her stay at the Home of Hope did not mark the end of her life. Instead, it brought about transformative rehabilitation and healing.
With the help of medical professionals, Meena received the treatment she needed not only to survive, but to live a better life. Miraculously, she has learned to walk again,and has been serving the Home of Hope community by cutting vegetables and preparing food in the kitchen. Not only have the skilled staff team helped Meena learn useful skills, but they’ve also walked alongside her through her addiction. Since coming to the Home of Hope, Meena is no longer drinking or relying on alcohol to cope with her pain. She has found a safe place to live, growing from others with purposeful ways to give back.
Meena is not only growing in health and skills, but also in dreams for her future. She now feels safe to talk with the Home of Hope team about her family, and has hopes for reconciliation with her daughter. Where many would have said her life was over, Meena was taken in and cared for. From having nowhere to go and no one to turn to, Meena now has a community around her of support to help her build a better future–a life richer than the one she left behind on the streets. Others cared for her when she couldn’t care for herself, and have given her a priceless gift.
The gift of a second chance.
