The drive back to California was scary and sad. We were driving with nowhere to go. I had no money and a new baby. And to make matters worse, the car broke down. We were told it would cost over three hundred dollars to fix. How? The only way my baby was eating was because I was breast feeding. Where was I going to find money like that. Thank God for Dre. He had stayed in touch with family on my dad’s side. He called them, and somehow he was able to convince them to help. Before I knew it we were back on the road.
Ultimately we ended up in Santa Rosa. Dre worked different jobs and moved in with an older woman and her children. I tried to apply for college, but didn’t have all of the required paperwork. It took a while to find permanent housing, so for a while I illegally stayed in off campus women’s housing at Sonoma State University. There was an unoccupied room, and the other ladies didn’t tell. They helped me with my baby and kept my spirits up.
One day, one of the residence was going to Oakland with a few friends and asked if I’d like to join them. It was nice. A day with no worries. While out there she met a guy who she thought was nice, so they exchanged numbers. A couple of weeks later the same guy came to our housing complex to visit her. At some point during their conversation they spoke about me. He told her that he could help me find permanent housing in Oakland. He said there was lady who help young moms get on their feet. It sounded promising, and deep down I needed someone to believe in me.
Within two months I had moved to Oakland, and as a matter of pattern, it was nothing like he’d said. He was a small handling drug dealer who paid a lady to allow me and my daughter to rent a room. And just like that, I went from bad to worse.
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