Great Stories
Montana Campus Corps:
College Students Meeting Critical Community Needs
To Me, You Are All a Success... by Sydney Drinkwalter

Working in the realm of Domestic Violence, you learn that every person has a different story to tell. For the last ten months I have listened to countless stories of abusive relationships, sexual assaults, child abuse, addictions, and the additional struggles that accompany all these issues. Each story was different, but each person had one thing in common, they had been strong enough to reach out for help. And that is what we do at the YWCA of Missoula; we are there to support those people who reach out and there to offer them the opportunity to break the cycle of violence that has taken over their lives. Each person is strong, each person learns they deserve more, and each person acknowledges their own worth rather than letting someone else do that for them.

While serving for the YWCA I have witnessed many successful stories, one in particular stands out that was a major success for our program. A young woman, who had received services from our program and stayed in our confidential safe shelter multiple times, came back for one last stay but this time around, she was different. She worked hard and got herself into safe housing, a steady income, and was reunited with her two of her three children that did not live at the shelter with her while the youngest did. Now, she lives a life free of violence and full of happiness with her three children. In the future, she plans on sharing her story with others, because she knows more than anyone how important it is to let someone know that there is hope. She is living proof of this.

We see people at there lowest moments with nothing to fall back on, we also have the privilege to watch those same people rise up and achieve what they had only before dreamed of. Working for the YWCA and their clients has been an honor and a once in a lifetime experience. This service did not come without its difficulties or challenges but it did come with beautiful rewards. My name may not be remembered, but the support and opportunities we helped provide will be, and the lives that are now free of violence and full of joy make every hour served worth it.


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