A Tale Too Common But Too Often Ignored
It was early summer of 2019 when misfortune came into my life. I found out that I was pregnant and my boyfriend kicked me out of our apartment in San Francisco. Knowing the only person I could turn to was my mother, I immediately contacted her in Los Angeles. To my shock, my mother wanted nothing to do with a pregnant daughter.
“I was on my own.”
Thank God a friend’s mother was willing to take me in for a couple of weeks. But I was determined to return to LA, even if my mother was not going to help me. I googled “pregnant women’s shelter” and Casa de los Angelitos came up on the top three. I called them from San Francisco.
I arrived at Casa on June 21, 2019 and I immediately felt a sense of belonging and understanding, being surrounded by other pregnant women on a similar journey. I did feel a little intimidated by the rules regarding cleanliness and curfews but slowly I appreciated them. A houseful of pregnant women with crazy hormones could provoke a lot of drama.
I loved that Casa was so close to the ocean, I would go to the gym and swim or go to the beach. One thing I also really appreciated when I lived there was the ability to be driven to go grocery shopping. I tremendously enjoyed that. I loved cooking in that clean, well-maintained kitchen. Working or going to school was encouraged at Casa and within a short time, I found a job at Urban Plates restaurant since I am a good cook, working 8 hour shifts. By the time they realized I was pregnant, they decided that I was too valuable not to keep.
My boyfriend, in the end, wanted to be a part of my baby’s life and decided to pay for an apartment. So I left the home when I was 8 months pregnant and am now taking care of my baby full time.
Thank you Casa for providing me with the safety net and stability at such a trying time in my life …and when no one else would.
