(written by 17 yr old C.I.N.O.H resident)

We need you because without you we would not have a place to stay. We need you because without you we would be lost.

We need you because without you we would be hopeless.

We need you because without you there would be no C.I.N.O.H.

We thank you for ALL you have done to help us. We thank you for ALL you have done to guide us. We thank you for ALL you have done to save us.... Because without you we would not have a goal, a future, or a chance. A chance that no one else would have given us. We are grateful because you have done so much to give us what you don't have in order for us to survive. When we struggle you help us keep our heads up high. No matter what the cost is you sacrifice.

"When I first came into this program, I was going through so much. I didn't have a good relationship with my mom and she wanted me out. The very same day I was to leave my home you opened up your doors and gave me a place to stay. I am very grateful that I was able to find someone like you who understands me and knows what it feels like to go through what I am going through. I have asked so many people for help before and they all turned me away. Then when they would see me in public or even at church they pretend to be my friend. You had no idea who I was or what I was going through and you let me in. You didn't have to but you did. You protected me from sleeping on the streets with my baby. You understood my situation and took charge of it. You made me believe that I have a chance and I will take this chance to continue on with what I have to do in life to survive. I want to be able to give ALL that I can give to my son and when I left home I thought I was lost. You gave me a path and a direction to follow and now here I am in your home. I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart and I thank you for my son. Without you I would not know where I would be today."

THANK YOU SO MUCH !!

(This young mother is graduating from high school and plans on attending College this fall) May, 2008