Week One: Being Homeless to Survive - Kito's Story

One of the most common questions that people ask us as it relates to homeless people is, "How did they become homeless?"  I believe that most people have a perception that homeless people are all drug addicts or alcoholics, people that couldn't or didn't care to get their lives together and instead chose to live their life on the streets. First of all, that is an extremely judgmental and short-sighted perception.  People have so many different reasons as to why they become homeless.  It is true, for some people, their addictions become everything to them, and they are willing to sacrifice it all for the sake of their addiction.  For others, sudden job loss, dire financial circumstances, even a death in the family can cause someone to be homeless.  For some, turning to the streets is an act of survival.  And that is Kito's story. We met Kito in Unity Park, a park specifically created for the homeless in the Near East Side of Forth Worth.   Kito's story is one of courage and determination, and in many ways, a story of sacrifice.  She lived in Indiana with her three beautiful children, but her life was anything but idyllic.  Her life was filled with drug abuse, alcoholism and abusive control by her family and her husband. Kito reached a place where she was so depressed and saw no end in sight to the constant abuse and exposure to drugs and alcohol that she and her children experienced daily.  She literally felt like she had no hope and no choice but to leave Indiana if she wanted to rescue her children.  Believing that God wanted her to go to Texas, she loaded up her kids and drove south, finally ending up in Ft. Worth, where she and her 3 beautiful children are now living in a shelter. She wants so much for her family, but not in terms of material things. She wants to be free of the hurt and pain she has gone through and for her kids to have a normal life.  She wants them to experience a normal life, at least a life that is different from the one they knew in Indiana. She spoke of her kids going to a school in the neighborhood where she used to live, and as she spoke, her eyes lit up with a beautiful smile, hoping that some day they would once again attend a neighborhood school. And though work has eluded her, she has been faithfully looking for a job, remaining hopeful that she will find work that will allow her to find a home she can afford. Kito absolutely beams the light of the Lord and when she speaks you can see the glow of the Lord's hand of favor upon her.  We prayed that the Lord would deliver her from the place she is, but she was so graciously pleased to have what she has.  She is a light in the shelter where she lives with her children, but she wants to be a light in HER neighborhood. Sammie