Alexus' Story
Alexus was attracted to the work Cherry Street does from the very first moment. “When I first came, I didn’t know what Cherry Street was because I’m not from here. I’m from Chicago so I’ve never heard of Cherry Street or understand what they did. Just when you realize that they’re trying to spread the Word of God and you know that that’s what you’re supposed to be doing, then it’s just best for you to hop on that bandwagon in any way that you can. My faith is the thing that keeps me going because without faith, you can’t prosper. Without faith, you can’t do what you need to do. Basically, I do my best to make sure that everybody would be able to come to God and when judgment day comes in, we’ll all have a party in heaven,” Alexus proclaimed.
And while she has been in a relationship with Cherry Street she is getting better in other ways. When she reflects on what she knows now and how she handles life differently she says it’s easier since having had some training at Chery Street about handling conflict and our emotions. Alexus explains, “If I get into an argument, then it’s easier for me to try to listen and understand what they’re trying to say instead of me just like, “No, I don’t care.” Because when I argue, then I shut down. I don’t have nothing to say to you, but now, I know how to express what I’m thinking in my head. Like say, we’re arguing over where we can eat tonight and I’m saying I don’t care. I’ll be able to think and be like, “Okay. Someone has to make a decision.” I can handle that. Just little stuff or even big stuff too, actually. It’s easier. It’s better. I know how to handle things better than I could before. Emotionally, I’m better, but that’s also because of the way that I’ve been in Cherry Street, with the people that surround me, and pull me up, and make sure that I’m okay. That contributes to me being a little bit more confident and controlling my emotions more.”
Alexus is grateful for those who support Cherry Street. She is grateful to those who those who have been helping her and others served at Cherry Street. She is especially happy when past guests who come back to offer encouragement saying, “Even if they may be going through their tough time now, but when they get out of their tough time, then they’ll be able to look back and like, “Oh, that person helped me to be better, to make sure that I would be able to be taken care of while I was going through my tough time, so now, I can give back too.” Because I think there are some supporters of Cherry Street that used to live here but now, they’re doing better and they can give. They come down here and they talk to people. They like that, to see somebody else that’s gone through what they’re going through. They like it when people come back and they’d be like, “Oh, I lived here.”
Continuing, Alexus said, “For the people that give, I hope that they understand how much it means to the people that actually live here or even people that just got to eat here, that means a lot because trying to sustain this big old building, trying to make sure there’s enough food for everybody to eat every day and sometimes more than just one time and one meal is a lot. It’s a lot of food. It’s a lot of money, so that money helps, just a little $5.00 because $5.00 from everybody in the world would be a lot of money.”
