Spirit of Serving: Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission

Geneva’s path to homelessness and incarceration began at an early age. “I started smoking pot at 13,” she says. “When I was in my 20s, I started doing meth, and my husband was very abusive. He liked to hit on me all the time, and beat on me, and for my escape I used drugs.”Geneva doesn’t allow her past to bring her down now. “There are so many things from my past that I would like to change, but I know God was there with me the whole time ... He carried me.”Geneva loves her life now, and she loves giving back through her job at the Mission. “Since I’ve been through the program, I can relate really well to (women in the program), and I just love having a relationship with them … I’m actually relaxed when I talk to people about my story because my mess is a message.”