“I was on a death wish… I couldn’t live like this anymore… I was lost with no hope.”
Tammi had sunk into depression. The depression was so profound that she wanted to end her life with methamphetamines. She had lost everything—her son’s father, her best friend, her home—and when the Department of Child Safety placed her son into foster care and started talking about severing her parental rights—she couldn’t take it anymore.
“I didn’t even like that stuff,” Tammi said, referring to the drugs, “it tastes like powdered aspirin,” but she couldn’t stop. “I just wanted to die.”
When Tammi was her son’s age, she had also experienced a time in the foster care system, so she was terrified for Joseph. Tammi wondered how he was doing in school. Was he still practicing his violin? Was Joseph safe? Throughout his hearings, and to anyone who would listen, Joseph expressed his desire to be reunited with his mother.
Tammi was heartbroken and lost.
Then, with nowhere else to go—her hope lost—Tammi found Gospel Rescue Mission in August last year. A staff member recalled, “She had a lot of anger issues and was very guarded,” but she was working through her traumas, staying clean, and everyone was proud of how hard she was trying. So she was granted visitations with her son.
But then something happened. Something small and miraculous.
In a particularly inspiring class one afternoon in September, she stood up and gave her life to Christ.
“There was no sense of euphoria,” Tammi explained, “but I found my beacon. And I had hope.”
Although the change didn’t happen overnight, Tammi slowly started to heal and find restoration. Tammi’s first unsupervised visit with her son was during Thanksgiving Blessings to Go in 2022. And it was a day of blessings both of them will never forget.
During our interview, Joseph turned to his mother and said, “I am very proud of you and everything you’ve done, Mom. It’s been a very hard two years, but you turned your life around, and I am so very proud of what you have accomplished.”
And in an emotional court hearing this past March, her severance case was closed. Tammi was granted full custody of her 13-year-old son. The whole team was in tears.
Tammi’s life has been completely transformed. Thanks to your continued prayers and support, Mother’s Day will look very different this year for Tammi. Her family has been made whole.
Hope, Shelter, Transformation—this happens when we serve together. Your generosity gave Tammi the time and tools she needed to find recovery and heal from her past traumas. And if you want to know what 300 days of sobriety look like, check out their smiles.
Sadly, there are other moms out there on Tucson’s streets. Other families that are lost and searching for a beacon of hope.
Please consider giving a Mother’s Day gift today to make a profound difference in the lives of other families, like Tammi and Joseph, in their time of need.
I am deeply grateful for your kindness and generosity.
Thanking God for you,
Lisa Chastain
Chief Executive Officer
P.S. Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 14th. Don’t forget those special people in your life. And, please, let’s also make sure Tammi and other moms like her get the help and hope they need this Mother’s Day. Thank you!