Ten Years of Growth: Checking in with Kanesha

Almost 10 years after leaving Home of Hope, Kanesha is looking back at how far she’s come since she first walked through the doors.

“I had my first son at 15,” Kanesha shared. “A lot of the things that I should have learned as a teenager while at school I wasn’t able to learn. I didn’t even have my high school diploma before I came [to Home of Hope].”

Kanesha describes the period before Home of Hope as simply “a struggle.” She and her two sons were living in a shelter in Atlanta when she heard Home of Hope was welcoming families. 

“We were one of the first families accepted into the program,” she shared. 

At Home of Hope, Kanesha was able to reflect on her past and plan for the future. 

“I had to literally tear down the house [of my life] and rebuild the foundation. I learned how to breathe and control my anger issues. I went through therapy and was able to talk through a lot of the traumas I went through as a child,” she said.

With her needs met and a steady support system, Kanesha could focus on finding a job and working on her GED.

“Being able to focus on things that can advance my life and not have to stress about our necessities was a very big deal for me,” Kanesha shared.

The staff and volunteers at Home of Hope also gave Kanesha more confidence in herself and as a mom.

“They transform your way of thinking and give you the hope and motivation that you are a good mom. You are loved. God loves you,” she explained. “Regardless of your circumstances and of anything you’ve gone through in the past, if you want to be better, you can be better.”

Now, almost a decade later and a mom of four, Kanesha is celebrating the success she and her children have worked hard to achieve.

“About this time next year, I’ll be at a point where I can go in and purchase our first home,” she shared. “My oldest son just graduated from high school. He’s now in boot camp for the U.S. Marines,” she shared. 

Meanwhile, her second son has recently landed his first job, and her third is excelling in school. 

“It’s been fun to take the things that I learned from [Home of Hope’s] program — like financial planning and budgeting and filling out job applications and resumes — and pour those things into my children as they come of age,” she said. 

She’s learned that the struggle and the failures she endured have not only made her a stronger person but also a stronger mother.

“I was having a conversation with my son, and I was apologizing to him for bringing him into the world before I was ready to be a mom, before I was able to raise him like I was supposed to,” she recalled.

“He said, ‘Mom, the only thing I can see is that with each one of my brothers, I can see that you’ve gotten better. I can’t really blame you for the past when I see you’re getting better and you’re stepping up and you’re being the mom that you always wanted to be for us.’”

Her son’s recognition of her journey gives her encouragement to keep growing and learning for her younger boys.

“[His words] make me feel like a superhero, that I can conquer the world,” she said. “I’m motivated and I’m excited to see what [my sons] do with their futures.”

Without Home of Hope, Kanesha doesn’t know where she and her boys would be.

“I was so lost. I was always trying. I wanted to be a better mother. I wanted to do good and make sure my kids were successful. But I didn’t know how to reach these things,” she said. 

“Being able to go to [Home of Hope] and learn all the different techniques and skills makes me so grateful.”