From Couch to Calling

Donnalen’s story is one of courage, resilience, and transformation.

Before coming to House of Refuge Sunnyslope, Donnalen’s life had become marked by addiction and instability. She had been with the same company for nearly three years, but after losing her job, everything else began to unravel. Without steady income, her housing situation fell apart, and when the family she had been living with moved into a home that could not accommodate her and her young daughter, Donnalen suddenly found herself without a place to stay. She and her daughter moved in with her dad and ended up sleeping on the couch while Donnalen searched for childcare and tried to find work.

At her lowest point, with nowhere left to turn, Donnalen began searching online for help. House of Refuge Sunnyslope kept appearing in her search results. When she learned she needed 30 days of sobriety before entering the program, she made the decision to get clean and sober so she could begin again. She knew she had nothing left to lose and everything to fight for.

That decision changed everything.

When Donnalen entered House of Refuge Sunnyslope, she found more than a place to stay. She found a place to heal. Through the program, she began to grow emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. She returned to the Lord and started rebuilding her life on a stronger foundation. The classes at HRS gave her practical tools for the future, teaching her about budgeting, healthy boundaries, and what good relationships should look like.

For the first time in a long time, Donnalen was able to think beyond simply surviving the present and begin planning for a better future for herself and her daughter.

The impact reached her daughter as well. In the safe, stable, Christ centered environment at HRS, Donnalen was able to create new rhythms of faith and security for her child. Together they pray over meals, pray before bed, and begin each morning with prayer. They sing Christian songs and worship together, small moments that are helping lay a strong foundation for her daughter’s life.

Today, Donnalen’s life looks very different. She is working for Valley Life and thriving in her role. She has been named Employee of the Month six months in a row, earned Employee of the Year, and is now ranked number one in the state of Arizona for job development. She recently graduated from House of Refuge Sunnyslope and is now moving into her new home with excitement for the future.

For Donnalen, the future now holds something it once did not: stability, consistency, and hope. Because of God’s redeeming work through HRS, she and her daughter are no longer simply trying to survive. They are building a new life together, grounded in faith and strengthened by perseverance, as Donnalen embraces the calling God has placed on her life and the future He is unfolding before them.