Hi, my name is Laurie and I am a person with long-term recovery. What that means to me is that in over 10 years I haven’t had to self harm or use a substance to get over my trauma and pain. I am a survivor of all sorts of abuse, the streets, the medical profession, the justice system, relationships,…. let’s just say I’m a survivor of life. 9/2 years ago I had the opportunity to become a peer support specialist, and if you don’t know what that is a peer support specialist is somebody who connects with folks through shared, lived experience. It definitely changed my life and gave me a new passion, so after years of working on the streets, and connecting with amazing people, I decided to start igniting Hope.
My time on the streets, both living and working, I’ve come across so many people who have such talents, but no way to showcase them. My dream, when starting this adventure was to simply start an outreach program, and after talking to so many people along the way, my dream has grown to want a safe space for folks who are experiencing homelessness to produce their art, show it off, and Connect!!!. A safe place to build a community of like-minded individuals who share the same lived experience ….to me that that just speaks volumes.
So be looking forward to meeting new artists as I meet them and showcase them here at my website. I will introduce you to somebody they can give you a little bit of their story andthe importance of their art to their own existence in this world. I look forward to this adventure, and I hope you guys are all on board with it.
So there you have it my very first blog. I’m new at all of this and I’m gonna get better. Thanks for reading. Please sign up for my email. Throw ideas my way I’m here for it all. Have a great day.
Peace, love and Pearl Jam!