Who are you? That’s a question 33-year-old Laura Peele finally knows how to answer. “I’ve come back to that I’m a mother, I’m a woman, and I’m a caregiver,” says Laura.
Laura has spent the last 11 months at Maya’s Place, one of Crossroads for Women’s two transitional housing programs for women emerging from incarceration.
“Coming into the Maya’s Place program was exciting and scary,” says Laura. “But I was so happy because in prison all I did was walk in a circle and being here at Maya’s I can walk out and do things.
“I got the beginning steps to recovery while in prison but it’s a different environment there. Here at Maya’s Place it’s a safe environment where I can apply the tools I’ve learned.”
This month Laura celebrated 20-months sober. Soon she’ll graduate from Maya’s Place and start her new job as a CNA.
“I just wanted the core of me to be fixed so I that way I didn’t go back to drugs and prison. Maya’s Place has offered me that emotional healing, spiritual healing, and soul healing that I asked for.”
Laura Peele
“I’m very spiritual and one of my biggest prayers was for physical healing, emotional healing, spiritual healing, and soul healing—not knowing exactly what I was really asking for,” says Laura. “I just wanted the core of me to be fixed so I that way I didn’t go back to drugs and prison. Maya’s Place has offered me that emotional healing, spiritual healing, and soul healing that I asked for.”
Laura has always had a desire to take care of people and become a nurse. Working on her sobriety and mental health while at Maya’s Place has helped Laura take the first steps toward fulfilling that goal.
In April, Laura became the first recipient of a Joe Puleo Scholarship, a new opportunity created by Crossroads for Women with financial support from the Jennifer Riordan Foundation and Rotary Del Norte Foundation.
“I feel very blessed to have received a Joe Puleo scholarship. With everything that I’ve gone through, now I can use my experiences to give back.”
Laura Peele
Dealing with her own drug addiction for several years showed Laura the type of compassion and care that’s needed in the medical field. “I was the one needing to be healed,” she says. “Getting down to the human level, being able to really talk to people and care about them–that’s something totally different.”
With funds from her Joe Puleo Scholarship, Laura was able to enroll in school and obtain her CNA license. She’s proud of her straight A’s and says confidently that her grades were all 93% or higher.
“I feel very blessed to have received a Joe Puleo scholarship,” says Laura. “With everything that I’ve gone through, now I can use my experiences to give back.”
Laura plans to work as a CNA and apply for nursing school. Her passion is serving the geriatric and elderly community.
Written by Clarissa Earl
Learn more about the Joe Puleo Scholarship Fund