Stories

The problem: Every day, hundreds of single women are forced into living on the streets. The reason is not the same for all- some are escaping domestic violence or human trafficking, while others are experiencing job loss and are feeling the effects of the affordable housing crisis in Charlotte.

The solution: A safe place for women to go to get back on their feet after a set back.

Enter, Healing Vine Harbor.

Healing Vine Harbor is a local nonprofit that provides independent living skills programs, for women 18 and older and works to combat this problem at hand. This safe harbor for women is designed to provide training (and ultimately housing) for women who are homeless or displaced.

Sharay J. met Executive Director of Healing Vine Harbor, Tracey Questell, at Midwood High School. Sharay was living with her boyfriend, however, she was a victim of domestic violence and had no other housing options to turn to, forcing her to stay put in an unhealthy and detrimental environment.

Tracey provided Sharay with temporary shelter as a way of escaping her situation and, with Tracey’s help, Sharay even enrolled at Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC). Unfortunately, Sharay continued to struggle. She got pregnant,  stopped attending classes, and continued to pursue unhealthy relationships which lead to an unstable environment and no home to call her own.

But Healing Vine Harbor (HVH) did not give up on her. HVH continued to support and mentor Sharay and she eventually returned back to CPCC. Tracey pushed her to apply for work study which Sharay was hired for at her college and it led to extremely valuable work experience.

Sharay has now graduated with two degrees to show for her hard work, both in Office Administration- one of which is a concentration on Legal Office Administration. She is working full time at the college, is happily married, and is the mother of two beautiful daughters. She is self-sufficient and is proudly taking care of her daughters, Shanaya and Nyla.

Sharay and her family live in a beautiful house which, for the first time, she calls home.

Healing Vine Harbor helps women facing hardships to become productive members of society by providing a pathway out of poverty to ensure self-sufficiency and economic stability and Sharay’s story is one example of the many successes Healing Vine Harbor has had in turning around the life of a woman in need.

Want to help give women who feel they have no place to go have a place to turn for shelter? Help with the purchase of a house or fund the construction of a housing facility by donating here.

Our friends from Healing Vine Harbor recently joined Page Fehling on Good Day Charlotte, watch the segment here!