Success Stories
Bonnie Turner
Licensed Practical Nurse
I was raised in Shermansdale, PA, one of 20 kids and eight step-siblings. My dad died when I was 15. I had my own car and apartment at 16. I worked in bars, odd jobs, etc. I got involved with the wrong crowd and got married at 18 to an abusive alcoholic. After I left my husband, I went wild and woolly. Alcohol was my escape. The people that I dated were alcoholics. I would live with them too. Alcohol was the center focus of everything. This was around age 21. I would only date married men, because I didn't have to worry about commitment, getting beaten, etc. I got pregnant with my son Jason at 21, and then got my GED after he was born. We went through the recession in the 80's and became homeless. By the time my son was 10 years old we had lived in 17 different places in PA. One bad choice had led to another and we were just trying to survive. I went to The Willough in Naples for an eating disorder. They had the nerve to tell me that I had an addiction problem. That's when I also addressed the alcohol issue. After a couple of stays at The Willough I went to International College, then worked as a live-in helper for seven years. When that job ended I was in my late 30's with no place to go. I sofa-surfed and moved six times in one year. Then a St. Matthew's House board member told me about Wolfe Apartments. I went to live there in 2005 and stayed just over two years. Although my stay at Wolfe was at times frustrating, I was very thankful to be there. while still working as a parttime live-in aide, I went to Lorenzo Walker Technical Institute for nursing. I got my diploma in May 2007 and my LPN that October. I moved out of Wolfe in September and by November I was working. One thing about Wolfe, I was learning discipline. I was learning to take one step at a time instead of running ahead of myself. Had it not been for St. Matthew's House and Wolfe Apartments helping me when I needed it, I couldn't have accomplished what I have. I know God was in the midst of the whole thing. I had always wanted to be a nurse and now I'm actually doing it!