YORK, Pa. — From living shelter to shelter, to becoming an advocate for the homeless.
"Right now, York has a housing crisis," said Sharee McFadden. "It's hard to see it and not think about all the things that could've possibly led them there. Do they have mental health issues? Were they a veteran? Did they get kicked out, did they go through a divorce, did they lose their job?"
When McFadden sees people out on the streets in York City, she's immediately reminded of what her parents went through.
"I remember when it was so cold outside in the winter, and I wondered where my dad was sleeping that night," she said.
She moved from shelter to shelter the first decade of her life while her parents were on and off the streets.
"My mom had a bad drug addiction in the 90s, and my dad was an alcoholic," said McFadden. "That created a lot of instability in our home."
For McFadden, that meant a lot of starting over.
"There were times she would pull it together, and things would fall apart," said McFadden. "But I knew our mom cared and loved us enough that she was always trying to be better for us."
While her mother bettered her life, Sharee and her siblings moved from Philadelphia to South Carolina to stay with family.
Eventually, they found their way back to Pennsylvania and reunited with their mom in York County. They stayed at multiple shelters across the area before finding a home.
"We moved to our very first house in the City of York at 536 West Philadelphia Street, and that's kind of where our story started here," she said.
McFadden says her mother worked three jobs to make it happen.
"My mom always had a way of making a house a home," said McFadden. "I don't want to get emotional... but no matter where we were, what we had.. I didn't know we were, like, poor."
McFadden has lived In York ever since, where she's worked to prioritize affordable housing for all. She also volunteers and donates to shelters where she used to stay.
"It is not just handouts or people who are lazy or don't want to work," she said. "Or as a lot of people say, 'pull up their bootstraps,' because some people don't have boots."
She's made it her mission to give those struggling the tools they need to move forward.
"There are so many different resources we have. It's how do we connect them to the people who need them, " she said. "And how do we get the people to want to take advantage of them, not to feel they're too damaged or too far gone to start over."
McFadden says her mother's determination is proof it is possible.
"You just need a desire to be out of that place and a belief that you can be out of that place," she said. "A belief that you deserve better."
She says a great way to help is by donating to local shelters. Whether it be donating your time, clothing or household items, she says it all adds up to make a life-changing difference.