Laura

Laura came to Koinonia’s Homes for Teens Program several years ago with much to overcome.  With the help of our loving team, she has changed the trajectory of her life and is well on her way to a success career as a Registered Nurse.  As she said, “Koinonia is a place where you can change your life and that is what I decided to do.”

Over the years we have granted Laura several scholarships to help her get through college while she worked several jobs.

I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of this amazing young lady.  She and all the foster kids we work with are my heroes and they inspire me to push  forward on our annual Angels in the Alley~ Foster Kids Christmas event and my dream to build them a new school.

From Laura

I may have been born in Petaluma, but I was raised at Koinonia.

I learned the simple things like doing daily chores and communicating with my peers in a respectful way.

 

I think on of the big things that I learned was patience. I remember the first time I went to church with Koinonia, I was crying, and I knew something was going to change. From then on, I worked a hard program and started to make realizations. Like..oh that is why I did that or that is why I get mad when people do that.

 

I love my Koinonia family! One thing I miss the most about Koinonia is the family dinners. I don’t have those anymore. All the girls got on my nerves at one point or another, but we all had a strange love for one another that you couldn’t get anywhere else but Koinonia.

 

While at Koinonia, I graduated high school and became a resident leader. One of the biggest things that helped me at Koinonia was the staff.

 

The continuous support with everything from ‘one on ones’ to ‘phase work’ to I just need someone to talk to. Many staff have helped me with my recovery, and they are such an important piece of the puzzle.