Supportive Shores was born from a story that began long before I ever imagined becoming a therapist.  There was a time in my life when I felt deeply alone. I was young, hurting and trying to navigate circumstances that often felt far bigger than I was. I did not always have the support, safety or consistency that every child deserves, and there were seasons when I genuinely wondered whether anyone saw me at all. 

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Then life gave me Mrs. Beverly Hinson, a teacher who chose to show up for me again and again; long after I left her classroom. She encouraged me, believed in me, and became a safe, steady presence in a life that often felt anything but steady. She gave me something I did not fully understand the value of at the time; consistency. 

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When I asked her why she cared so much, she gave me a starfish necklace (that I still have) and shared "The Starfish Story" with me - the reminder that even when we cannot change the world, changing the world for one person still matters. 

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I was her starfish. All these years later ... she still calls me that. 

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My life has not been untouched by hardship. I have lived through difficult seasons, painful experiences, disappointment, uncertainty and moments when I did not know what came next. I became a therapist with an education, clinical training and professional experience - but I also came into this work as a real person shaped by my own trials, pain, resilience and growth. I know what it is like to need someone steady when life feels anything but steady.

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Becoming a therapist did not make me a perfect person with a perfect life. It gave me the opportunity to take what I have learned through both education and lived experience and use it to sit beside others during some of their hardest seasons. 

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That is why Supportive Shores means much more to me than a name. It was created from the belief that sometimes one safe person, one consistent relationship, or one supportive place can change the direction of a life.