傑裏與洛林·比德爾曼/Jerry and Lorin Biederman
I am in my late forties and have two teenage daughters. My life has been difficult but, by the grace of God, I am a survivor.
My girls and I spent much of their childhood in shelters and living on the street. Though we were together six years, I never married the girls' father. He couldn't hold a job and although I am a hard worker, without a college education. The money just wasn't enough to support us. He spent most of my money on hard liquor, and he didn't come home for days.
One day, after he threatened to kill me（he was a violent drunk）, I packed up my babies and our belongings and headed for a better part of town. I figured I would give my girls a good education, even if we had to live on the street.
I managed to find a job as a waitress at a local coffee shop, and I enrolled my girls in a good public school. My job didn't pay enough for rent, so we moved from shelter to shelter. I was nervous about the address, so I got a post office box and used the address for the school paperwork.
No one suspected we were homeless. My girls went to school every day. If the shelter was nearby, we walked. If we had to, we took a bus.
My girls were always very presentable. I let them go to friends' houses as much as possible, and I often tried to buy them special gifts. But, mostly, the little money we had was put away for their future.
We had made a pact that we would not tell anyone we were homeless because I was sure this fine school wouldn't allow my daughters remain if they knew about our situation.
One day, several years later, one of the girls came back to the shelter and told me her friend's mother had invited all three of us over for supper the next evening. I managed to talk to the director of the shelter into allowing me to use the kitchen to bake cookies.
We knocked on the door of a beautiful two-story home. It was spotless and comfortable. Mary, the mother, was so appreciative of the cookies. We had a wonderful evening, and I knew I had found a friend.