Living in Community

Shaunee  Hooper, pictured above, works at The Collegium Café, and like so many of the young women who come to the Center for Sharing (CFS), Shaunee came here through our Job Training Program. The steps that she’s taken in such a short amount of time, to give herself and her daughter a better life, is truly commendable. She has worked her way through drug court and is graduating in early May. Only a few weeks after coming to  CFS Shaunee volunteered to start teaching young girls and boys, from the Tierra Vida Community how to play basketball, a community that she will be moving into soon.

So what’s the big deal about living in community?  We find that it’s easier to move from hurt to healing while living in community. Knowing your neighbors and having friends who live nearby makes us feel like we belong and are a welcomed member of the community, which in turn creates a sense of security. Surrounding yourself with people who only have your best interest at heart, makes trusting, learning to love, and letting go of past mistakes, a lot easier.

As we  become, healthier, wiser, freer, more able to take care of ourselves we recognize the importance of having friends who are authentic and genuine – people who love, respect and support us, people who need our love and support as well!