Last fall, I received a phone call from the City Rescue Mission, our local homeless shelter. They asked if I could come and complete an assessment for a 31-year-old single mother of three. Donaya was struggling with homelessness, unemployment, trauma, and mental health challenges.
As I completed the assessment, I began to understand the depth of her trauma and why life had brought her to that moment.
When we finished, I looked at her and asked, “Donaya, would you let me be your mother figure?”
She looked at me with a big smile, her eyes wide open, and said, “Yes, Dr. Kue.”
We hugged.
From that day on, we met every week, and sometimes every other week, at different coffee shops. Those meetings weren’t about fixing her life. They were about listening, encouraging, and simply loving her where she was.
Within the first month, Donaya returned to therapy and counseling. I want to thank Child & Family Charities for walking alongside her in that healing journey.
Then she secured full-time employment.
Shortly afterward, she obtained stable housing.
Today, Donaya has climbed every step. She has reached the top of the staircase. She is stable and building a beautiful life for herself and her children.
We still meet regularly—not because she is in crisis anymore, but because relationships don’t end when stability begins.
Today, Donaya is giving back. She refers families to the 100 Families Initiative, and, believe it or not, she often encourages me.
This is what happens when a community comes together.
When churches, nonprofits, government agencies, businesses, and caring individuals each help a family take one more step, families don’t just survive—they reach stability.
And when one family reaches the top, they often turn around and help the next family climb.
That is how we build a cathedral.
One family.
One relationship.
One step at a time.
