Saying "Yes" to a Hope-Filled Future: Meet Jasmine

Every young person who’s experienced homelessness has a unique story, but most have something in common. They know the vulnerability of being alone in dark waters they didn’t choose; of struggling past the drop-off where it’s too deep to stand and a safe shore seems impossibly out of reach.

When Jasmine came to Immerse three years ago, it had been a long time since she’d swum anywhere she could touch the bottom.

Living on the street, she said, “There were times I feared for my safety and didn’t have much hope for a  future.”

Jasmine, 22, was looking for crisis assistance online when she found Immerse through a Google search. She was accepted into the LifeBASE transitional living program and, despite having endured tremendous struggles, quickly became known for her trademark bright, charismatic personality. 

When Jasmine first connected with her LifeBASE coach, Shaneka Hamilton (now LifeBASE Launch manager), she was a little reserved. But a mutual respect began to grow over Mexican food at Riviera Maya, where Shaneka talked with Jasmine about her goals, challenges and emotional triggers.

“One thing I love about Immerse is that we build intentional relationships with our youth,” Shaneka said. “It’s not just a box we check off or an outcome we’re trying to reach.”

Coaches seek to truly understand youth in order to help them catch a vision for their restored future and achieve their goals and dreams, she added, “so once they transform into overcomers, they’re doing things they want to do, not things I think they should want to do.”

Jasmine's road to therapy at Immerse was longer.

“When I was first introduced to therapy, I wasn’t open to it,” she said. “It felt like I was putting a spotlight on all my problems and saying, ‘Hey, come help me.’ That’s not how I was brought up to handle things.”

The Immerse staff therapist working with Jasmine understood that youth sometimes aren’t ready to dive into their trauma, and therapy doesn’t always require input or advice. So she left the door open and created a safe space. Her presence and unconditional pursuit gave Jasmine room to open up in her own time.

“After a year of her chasing me down and me running away, I was able to see she wanted to help me, to show me who I am outside my trauma,” Jasmine remembered. “She’s taught me to be a forgiving person.”

“My future was constantly on my mind during my time at Immerse,” she added. “With both therapy and opportunities to further my education available to me, I was given tools to fix what was broken and be ready for what’s to come.”

Jasmine worked full-time and became a Certified Nursing Assistant while she was in LifeBASE. Today, she’s bought a car, lives in her own apartment and continues to work while she pursues further education. She stays close to the people she built healthy relationships with, especially her Immerse mentor, Christy Spann.

“Christy is like a mother to me,” said Jasmine. “She’s handled me with unconditional love and grace, and she’s taught me so much. We come from similar backgrounds, but there are a lot of differences between us, so I didn’t really expect our relationship to blossom the way it did.” 

“She shows up for me without judgment,” Jasmine added, “which is something not many people have the blessing to experience.”

Christy was an Immerse volunteer first, then a mentor. She now serves on staff as resident life facilitator at The Station.

When she was introduced to Jasmine, “We just clicked immediately,” Christy said. “She’s right. We are family now.”

“I can see how God has worked in my life and through my trauma, and he sent me to Immerse,” Christy added. Her relationship with Jasmine “has been a two-way street: as she’s grown and healed, as I’ve mentored, he’s used that for me to grow and heal.”

Christy and Jasmine took their first vacation together last year: a cruise to Mexico that included swimming with dolphins.

But before that, Jasmine took her first peaceful swim in open water during a LifeBASE trip to Dauphin Island, Ala., where she could safely dig her toes into the white sand, surrounded by friends and cared for by Immerse staff, including Justin Kirkes, director of growth and transformation. 

“That just opened up so many doors for me,” she said. “I want to fill up my passport.”

The trip did for Jasmine just what transformational recreational experiences are intended to do for Immerse youth: it reshaped her perspective, led to personal growth and deeper self-awareness and opened new possibilities.

“It taught me that outside of my life and the things I need to do for myself, I can have fun,” Jasmine recalled. “Just because the bills are due first doesn’t mean I can’t take a trip next week.”

Jasmine has lived on her own successfully for a year. The waters are mostly calm, and because of the unconditional, supportive relationships in her life, she’s not alone.

“As long as I pray and remember what’s in front of me,” she said, “I won’t have to go back to the life I had behind me.”