I was willing to do whatever it took!

After her stepmother kicked her out of her home at seventeen, she lived with her best friend and finished high school. After graduation, she couch-surfed and moved from place to place. Then she found out she was expecting a baby girl.

Her top priority became finding a safe, stable home for herself and her unborn daughter. “I was willing to do whatever it took to have a safe place to live,” Chantal remembers.

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Safety was especially important because she was being stalked and harassed. The Family Center provided a secure, locked facility where Chantal could begin preparing for motherhood without having to constantly worry about whether she and her baby were safe. And they kept their promise. When her stalker tried to reach her, the Family Center kept her safe.

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During her time at the Family Center, Chantal participated in the programs and services offered to residents, including budgeting and other life-skills programming. She doesn’t remember every specific program today, but she remembers something more important: she was willing to do whatever was required to maintain a safe place to live.

At the time, she was focused on getting through the next chapter.

 

I can help other women

She couldn’t have known that the stability she was building would eventually become the foundation for something much bigger.

Years later, Chantal began turning an idea into a business.

 

Around 2021, she started selling vintage clothing at pop-ups, eventually opening a small space before moving into a larger downtown location. What began as a side hustle grew into a successful local business and a place where Chantal has found another way to make a difference.

 

Looking back, she sees the difficult experiences of her life differently now.

“At this point, I feel like everything that I've gone through, if I can help other women and guide them into a better situation, and a more self-confident situation, that is all for a reason,” she says.

 

Having sat in one of the big comfy chairs in her vintage shop, Chilly Rain Retro on the corner of 4th and Commercial, I can attest that she is doing exactly that. I’ve watched women come in looking a little down, unsure of themselves. Within minutes, Chantal pulls things from her racks, encourages them to try something different, and reminds them what looks good on them. Their light comes back on.

 

Her empathy comes from knowing what it feels like to be a young woman facing circumstances she never expected, wondering where she and her baby would sleep, and needing someone to provide safety while she figured out what came next.

 

Chantal knows that strength doesn’t always look like having everything figured out. Sometimes strength is finding a safe place. Sometimes it is asking for and accepting help

 

And sometimes, it is taking the next step without knowing where the road will lead – and years later, being the woman who shows up for others with snacks, compassion, encouragement, and an unwavering belief that things can get better.

 

A woman is not defined by a moment

Today, Chantal is a successful businesswoman, a familiar and generous presence in her community, and a living example of what can happen when a woman is given the opportunity to find stability and begin again. Her story reminds us that the woman who walks through the doors of the Family Center during a difficult moment is not defined by that moment. She is still becoming who she is.

 

Chantal’s story shows just how far that journey can take you.​

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Story by Elizabeth Bishop