Marcie’s Story
“In 2021, my world fell apart. After a series of panic attacks and overwhelming anxiety, I ended up at Pine Rest inpatient care. It was the beginning of a long, difficult journey that led to me being placed on disability. With a small monthly income, I struggled to manage my life and my mental health […]
What Community Can Do
Sometimes, the best matches are the ones you least expect. A participant had just completed their financial literacy class when he met his new peer support for the very first time. It was a quick introduction, meant to get them familiar with one another before their official sessions began the following week. The program leader […]
Half Dead on the Side of the Road
As Christians, many of us grew up learning the parable story, The Good Samaritan. If we had to quickly recount the main lesson out of this story it would probably be something like, “be a good neighbor” or “be nice to others.” This is an easy lesson to agree with, because Jesus himself modeled this […]
Planting Seeds
Recently, a Life Skills Leader shared her journey with someone who joined the Life Skills Program. “Dallas called in January while living in his truck. He parks in various places in Grandville and sometimes rents hotel rooms. His boss told him to call Love Your Neighbor because we could help. Her family had been helped […]
Mentors Who Were More Like Family
Jon and Kerrie were looking for a way to serve that would make an impact. “We first got involved with Love Your Neighbor because we were searching for a way to give back locally to help combat poverty in a Christ-focused way. Love Your Neighbor was the clear winner. We love that the mission is […]
Laci’s Story
I heard about the Life Skills Program through Habitat for Humanity. They suggested I join this program to help me budget my money and to be able to afford a house of my own. So I did. After a long journey with Habitat, I didn’t end up getting the house. But they helped another family […]
Stereotypes
I think God has a sense of humor. After 4 years of college and 4 years of teaching, I found myself working part-time at Love in the summer months for some extra income before my first baby arrived. (I had never even thought about working in non-profit). I was tasked with writing about the history […]
Wendy’s Story
Wendy had just gotten clean. Shortly after moving across the country with her 4-year-old daughter’s dad, he began using again, got caught, and Wendy lost everything. “And I did not know God.” “I didn’t pray. I knew of God, and I always had a thought in the back of my mind, even in my addiction, […]
Kristal’s Story
When Kristal began the program, she was ready to file for bankruptcy after a rough separation and divorce. Finding out about the Life Skills Program from her sister’s employee resource department, she took the courageous first step and began attending with her family. To their surprise, they enjoyed coming. “We looked forward to going and […]
Sarah’s Story
Where better to start than the beginning. My name is Sarah and I am married to Nate and together we have 3 kids. We started the Life Skills Program in March of 2015. In January, before starting the program, we bought a house for the first time and had no idea what we were doing. […]