Rachel’s Light provides much more than shelter

When Rachel’s Light opened a little more than a year, its founders hoped to fill a void – one that gave women and children without a home the shelter and support needed to get their feet back on the ground.
Changing the stigma of homelessness in the broader community was an important, but secondary goal.
“No one can thrive off shame and judgment,” said Amanda Starks, executive director of Rachel’s Light, the non-profit agency that runs the transitional home located in Meriden. “We can learn a lot from these women. They are so resilient and so strong.”
Since opening in September 2019, Rachel’s Light has received more than 100 referrals and provided housing for 26 women and children.
Starks said she’s seen women break the chain of addition, women who have been told they amount to nothing become something and women reunited with their children.
Not many of Rachel’s Lights residents are employed when they arrive at Rachel’s Light. And, according to Starks, many have zero resources and no help.
Initially, Starks said, the women need time to rest, pause and reset, which allows them to get into some kind of routine and schedule. About half way through their 90-day stay, Rachel’s Light staff and mentors support the women with goal planning and help connect them to the resources they need to become self-sufficient.
Being able to see that you can go from nothing and not let it own you or define you allows the women to thrive rather than survive, said Starks.
“I’m so grateful, I don’t even want to leave,” said Tammy Gustavson, who will soon be leaving Rachel’s Light. With the help of staff, she looking for an apartment and looking forward to reuniting with her grandchildren at Christmas.
“All of the advocates, love us unconditionally,” said the 55-year-old who was suicidal a year ago. “We come in with a lot of baggage and leave with just a suitcase – no baggage in it.”Gustavson added that she’ll be leaving Rachel’s Light “a happier person, a healthier person…somebody who wants to live her life.”
She isn’t the only one.
When 26-year-old Payton Crowe arrived at Rachel’s Light she was pregnant and had just completed a long-term treatment program for drug addiction. Today, she and her baby daughter are doing well and living on their own in an apartment.
“I had a lot against - evictions and felonies and no job,” said Crowe who’d struggled with addiction for years.
But that’s all changed. Crowe said she’s been sober for a year now, is currently in Phase 3 of Drug Court and will be starting college in a few weeks to become a drug and alcohol counselor.
“Rachel’s Light made me feel very welcome and comfortable,” said Crowe. “They are always there to help. They are like family to me.”
Gustavson would agree.
“Love wins is what we always say,” said Gustavson. “Miracles are everywhere.
And for Starks, the executive director who discovered Rachel’s Light when researching what resources existed for homeless children in the area, fighting homelessness became a calling.
 “It’s been more than a job to me,” said Starks. “It’s been inspirational and a blessing to my life.”
More information on Rachel’s Light can be found on agency’s website at www.rachelslight.org. Financial contributions can be mailed to Rachel’s Light, P.O. Box 118, Owatonna, MN 55060.