Shelby's Story

Originally shared by Shelby at OWL360's 2026 Benefit Celebration event. 

I grew up in Washington, moving between my best friend’s house, my dad, and my grandparents’ homes. There was a lot of instability growing up.

When I was 16, I was sent to live with my stepmom’s friend in Port Townsend. I arrived not really knowing what to expect, and things went sideways pretty quickly. I eventually found myself living in a trap house, and by 17, I was addicted to meth.

Even in the middle of all that chaos, I knew I wanted something different. I wanted to feel safe. I wanted some stability. I just didn’t really know how to get there.

I was still occasionally going to OCEAN Alternative School, where I was registered for high school. The principal at OCEAN, Sarah Rubinstein, connected me with OWL360.

At the time, I was still 17, which meant I was too young to move directly into OWL360 housing. But I also wasn’t in a safe situation. Dove House gave me a place to stay for four months while people worked behind the scenes to figure out what could come next. OWL360 got in touch with my mom and was able to get the parental signature needed for me to move into shared housing before I was 18. OlyCAP also worked to find housing funding so that I could have a stable place to live while focusing on school.

In June of 2025, I moved into OWL360 housing. For the first time in a while, I had my own furnished room in a safe, furnished house in town.

I was connected with Kelli Parcher, OWL360 executive director and Tobi as a case care coordinator, and we started working on the basic pieces of building a life. I renewed my expired learner’s permit, signed up for SNAP food benefits, and enrolled in the joint OCEAN and OWL360 program that helps young adults finish their high school diplomas. I also tried West Sound Tech to explore autobody repair. It turned out not to be the right path for me at the time, but I was starting to have the stability to figure out what I wanted my path to look like.



About four months after moving into OWL360, I found out I was pregnant.

It was scary and exciting all at once. But finding out that I was going to become a mom changed something for me. I stopped using meth the next day.

I have now been clean for over a year, and my life looks dramatically different.

Over that year, I became close with my case care workers, teachers, and the staff at OWL360. But one of the most meaningful things that happened was when my teacher, MB, introduced me to Amy Kilham. Amy had also been a teen mom, and MB thought it might help me to hear from someone who understood some of what I was experiencing.

Amy did much more than tell me her story. She welcomed me into her family and her home.

And she wasn’t the only person who showed up.

The OWL360 team walked alongside me throughout my pregnancy. They held a baby shower for me at The Nest. Kelli came to visit me in the hospital after my son, Carson, was born. During Open Doors, staff would take turns holding Carson so I could focus on my schoolwork. Amy invited me to family gatherings, gave me a shoulder to cry on, encouraged me when things were hard, and held Carson so that I could get some of those desperately needed first naps as a new mom.

Those things might sound small, but when you’re a young person trying to build a life and suddenly trying to learn how to be a mom, having people consistently show up matters.

Along the way, I have also reconnected with my mom and stepdad. I’ve been able to visit them in Kansas twice, and they came to Washington for Carson’s birth.

Today, Carson is almost six months old. I am still living in OWL360 housing and working with MB to finish my high school diploma and I’m still dreaming of becoming a mechanic. 

I don’t know exactly what comes next for us yet.

But I do know that I have been clean for more than a year. My son is healthy. I’m working toward my education. I have people in my life who care about me and Carson. And I have the opportunity to think about our future instead of simply trying to get through each day.

My life today is very different from the life I was living when I first came to OWL360 in June of 2025 and I am very proud.

When you support OWL360, you are helping make room for young people like me to have that chance—to have a safe place to land, people who keep showing up, and enough stability to begin figuring out what comes next.

I still have a lot of my story left to write. But today, I get to be the one writing it.

Thank you for helping make that possible.