Valley shared her story, below, at Homeless Day on the Hill on March 6, 2018. Valley is currently a Resident Representative on Aeon’s Board of Directors. Homes for All MN shares housing stories to to show lawmakers the challenges Minnesotans are facing when it comes to having a safe, stable and affordable home. By sharing your story, you — like Valley — are playing a key part in gaining the support and understanding of elected officials and furthering Homes for All’s mission to advance housing stability for all Minnesotans. Read Valley’s story below, and join her in sharing your story. Thanks for supporting Homes for All!

I know first-hand the importance of affordable homes. For me, having an affordable home provided a new beginning. Without it, I would be back out on the streets. I would still be an addict. I would probably be dead.

I started doing drugs as a teenager. I had come from a good home and was spoiled as an only child. But I was overprotected. So I started venturing out and hanging out with my cousin and her friends. I started getting high at the age of 14 and by 16, I was very active in street life. I had joined a gang, I was involved with prostitution. I was selling, using and stealing drugs and spent some time in prison because of all this.

When I was 18, my parents put me out, so I looked to others for family. I got married twice in two years and had my first child at the age of 21. My relationship with my second husband was very abusive though, and this threw me even deeper into the drug life.

This phase of my life lasted over 30 years, and there were few long periods of sobriety during this time. Within this 30-year period, I had two more children. But I lost custody of all three because of my drug use. I felt like a ghost during these years — like I had no real identity and I was a hindrance to society.

I finally sought help after a night that changed me. I was in the hospital at the time because I was addicted to morphine and would admit myself pretending to be in pain. One evening while I was lying in the hospital bed, I knew that I was dying. Everything in the room became black and cold. I couldn’t physically move my body, so I couldn’t press the nurse’s button for help. When the room suddenly became light and warm, I frantically started pushing the nurse’s button and told the doctor with tears in my eyes that I needed help because I was addicted to morphine and cocaine.

I detoxed in the psychiatric hospital and continued with treatment after being released. Quitting cold turkey was hell, but I’m proud to say that I’ve been clean for 15 years now.

The only problem was that I was homeless. I knew that if I couldn’t find stability that I wouldn’t stay clean, so I stayed at the Harbor Lights Salvation Army and was blessed with a case manager. She helped me apply for social security and connected me with Aeon. I applied to two apartment homes and 30 days later was accepted at The Continental. I’ve been living with Aeon ever since then.

In the last 15 years, I have started to find myself and feel like a person again. I’ve slowly began to see and love myself again, and this helped me want to re-connect with my family. I am blessed to say that I have reunited with all of them.

I’ve also become more active with my community at Aeon. There are still people who are turned down for housing or are forced to live with slumlords because there aren’t enough homes for everyone. This made me want to become active on Aeon’s board and this year I shared my experiences at Homeless Day on the Hill.

It feels good to make my voice heard, but there’s still so much work to do. There are still people in charge who don’t understand the need for affordable homes, and that’s troubling. Without my home, I wouldn’t have had the stability I needed to create this life for myself. And so I continue to look for ways to get involved and to help with this issue in any way that I can.