Dreaming of the Future - Amber’s Story

Hi, I’m Amber! My story consists of a life of instability and abuse, but because of Ripple, I am now in a place in life I never dreamed I would be. I would love to share my story with you!

As a teenager, I lived with my mother who was very poor and was progressively getting sicker, so I moved in with my father at the age of 13. We moved around a lot, sometimes only staying in a house for a month before getting evicted. We lived in hotels a lot while I was in high school. He was a heavy drinker and it resulted in me being home by myself a lot of the time. 

When I was a senior in high school, I moved out of my father’s house and stayed with my grandparents for a little while, but then moved into a larger house with some friends. We had parties every night, I drank often, and experimented with drugs. I was living paycheck to paycheck, making stupid decisions, and eventually that led to me getting arrested on drug charges. 

My biggest challenge when I moved out on my own was responsibility in general. I was young, my priorities were all wrong, and I surrounded myself with the wrong people. I lost jobs for being careless and didn’t have any self-respect. I dated complete scum bags just to feel like someone wanted me around and so that I wouldn’t be alone. At times, I was homeless and would sleep in my car with my dog. I would count any change I found and get us a cheeseburger to share.

You might think that supporting Ripple is not a big deal, but for those in the program who want to do better - the parents and children who wake up every day just trying to get by - it is a HUGE deal. 

This program has been an absolute God-send for me. I plan to use what I have learned through this program to not only set my son up for success in his future but also to help other people who have gone through the same things I went through. Ripple of One did all of those things for me, so it isn’t just ‘no big deal.’