The key that changes everything for Martine
When Martine talks about her new apartment, emotions quickly surface. This is not simply a place she is about to move into, but a space of her own, her first in a long time.
“Just having a key, she says, changes everything.” A key no longer associated with fear, control, or violence, but with safety, freedom, and dignity.
Photo : Martine with Rosa, her support worker at Chez Doris
Martine’s journey has been marked by profound suffering. After leaving home at the age of 15, she was quickly exposed to difficult environments. For five years, she lived under the control of a violent landlord who dominated her life and finances. Substance abuse took a further toll, and the life she might have had slipped further away.
At one point, these challenges led to an extremely painful decision: her child was taken into care by youth protection services. The separation never fully healed. During this period, Martine experienced a period of homelessness, living in precarious conditions and facing the harsh realities and insecurity of life on the street. “I’ve experienced the extreme,” she says quietly.
For years, she did what she could to survive. Then everything shifted at one. The death of her partner in early 2025 left her completely devastated. Her health collapsed – hospitalization, major surgery. Exhausted and ready for something different, she agreed to begin a detox.
“I don’t want that life anymore”
Slowly, she found her footing. She learned to care for herself and reaching out for help when she needed it “You have to give yourself a chance, one hour at a time, one day at a time.”
She found her way to Chez Doris, and everyting began to shift. Then came an unexpected opening : an apartment. “I cried with joy“, she recalls. “I felt like this couldn’t possibly happen to me.”
The apartment is modest but warm. For Martine, it represents much more, It becomes a place of stability where she can finally feel safe. “For once, I’ll be the one bringing something good into my home,” she says. And soon, a space where she can rebuild what matters most.
Her 22-year-old son is gradually finding his way back to her. Their relationship, worn down by years of pain, is slowly being repaired—more conversations, visits on the horizon. “It touches me deeply,” she says.
To others living through something similar, Martine has one thing to say : “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I am living proof that it works.” Those words carry the full weight of the road she has travelled.
Because behind every journey like Martine’s is a network of people and resources that don’t come together on their own. Housing, support, and opportunity exist because others chose to invest—their time, their money, their commitment to change. As Martine says,
“Without these resources, I never would have made it this far.”
Her story is a powerful reminder that support can transform a life. And that, by offering a woman a safe space, we give her far more than a roof, we give her the possibility to move forward and, above all, to believe once again that she deserves happiness.
Today, Martine looks to the future with clarity and hope. She simply wants to continue in this direction. “I want this to continue,” she says. To keep rebuilding, to keep moving forward, to find her place again.
One key at a time.