We're All In This Together | Carolyn's Story

Carolyn Fike was no stranger to LOVE INC when she reached out to ask for help.

Her Mom was a good friend of the director, Debbie Ramsey, and had been a volunteer in the donation warehouse for years. Carolyn had often gone with her mother and helped out as a volunteer herself and knew all the staff and other volunteers.

Fast forward a few years and Carolyn’s situation had become very difficult. Her Dad and two grandmas had died within a short time. She was involved in an abusive relationship and was pregnant. She suffered from clinical depression and needed a kidney/pancreas transplant because of her serious diabetic health issues. Her baby, Eli, was born 3 months early. Carolyn observed that when she walked without Christ, so many things went wrong. She left the abusive relationship and moved in with her mother who urged Carolyn to enroll in the LYN program to take classes that would build her faith and provide her the opportunity to earn vouchers for things she needed for her baby.

Asking for help was one of the hardest things she ever had to do. She felt ashamed and embarrassed and worried that she would be judged negatively for the poor life choices she had made. She hated needing help because she had been raised in a family that was always giving help. Being on public assistance was demoralizing. She felt like a number and not a person.

Stigma, mortified and failure are words she used to describe the way she felt.

Finally, Carolyn agreed to enter the LYN program, largely as a way to earn the diapers she needed for Eli. She worried about how she might be treated and felt that some of the staff and volunteers might look down upon her. She said it was a huge relief going in for the first time. “Everyone was welcoming and loving. Each staff member and volunteer was seeking a real relationship with me. They cared about me and wanted to see me do well in life.”

Carolyn (left) attends class back in 2015

“When I started there I was depressed. I had stolen from my Mom and I was very sick. Through the program I experienced the community of people who cared and were very welcoming. I wanted to be like them. One volunteer in particular became like another grandmother. She would volunteer to take care of Eli for a few hours to give me a break. This was a real reunion of spirit. People loved me when I was in the pits and they loved me out of it. When I asked my Mom for forgiveness, I got much better physically, emotionally and spiritually.”

Now Carolyn has finished the LYN program. She credits the classes on Money Management and Parenting for helping her get a better handle on life. She’s learned not to worry about other people judging her and is clear on what’s important and what to let go.

She has met her soul mate, a young man who shares her life and has a deep and strong faith himself. Carolyn says, “I’m confident I’m living the life God called me to. I have full faith I’m where I’m supposed to be and living the life I’m called to.

Things have come full circle now. Carolyn again is a volunteer with LOVE INC, providing child care on Tuesday nights so others can take part in the same classes that helped her to grow into the woman God intended for her to be.

At LOVE INC, we are family. We love, care for and support one another through all the ups and downs. Whether staff, volunteer or neighbor, there is always love, acceptance, encouragement and support. We are all in this together.