A Leap of Faith
Isn’t life a trip? How we start at Point A and end up at Point B is never a straight line is it? Hi, I’m Maureen O’Crean, Founder of A Bed of My Own, Inc. I’ve taken many roads on my life journey and one of them ended up as a volunteer on Skid Row in Los Angeles at a homeless shelter, the Union Rescue Mission. Skid Row is one of the scariest places in the world and I watched children learning how to survive and become invisible instead of their A, B, C’s. I also observed their transformation back to childhood when they entered the Mommy and Me room. It was as if a magic spell had been cast as the moms relaxed and the children played for a few hours a day. In that moment I decided that every child deserved a bed of their own and I would do everything that I could do to help make that dream come true.
It has also been my experience that no one wants a handout, they want a hand up. Homelessness is such an unthinkable situation, but it happens through unfortunate events. Today, too many children don’t know where their next meal is coming from or where they will lay their heads at night. Under the best of conditions, being a single Mom is challenging, and under the worst conditions, it is a living nightmare. I also know that with advocacy and support, people can change their lives for the long run.
In another life, I was the Director of a Welfare-to-Work program and had the joy of being with single Moms who were learning new skills and how to make positive choices to become self-sufficient. They learned how to get a job, but more importantly how to keep their jobs and raise their children. I know that can change on a dime and that when all seems lost, hope can bring us a second chance and that the kindness of strangers can change the world of a child for the better. All it takes is a leap of faith.
Won’t you take that leap with me right now and donate to a Bed of My Own and bring a child closer to a bed of their own? Thank you for your courage and prayers as we fight to end the homelessness of children in our lifetime.