Clearing obstacles one day at a time
MARINA >> Eleven years to the day that she was nearly fatally stabbed to death, Janie Amezcua left the Salvation Army with stability in her life and a place she could call home.
So much had transpired in her life in between, with moves to six different cities, the birth of her three boys, battling through an abusive relationship and the death of her sister.
Amezcua, 31, has battled financial hardships, worked two jobs at the same time, has been left without a place to live on more than one occasion and has suffered through depression.
To this day, each day is a battle. Yet, each day feels like a new lease on life for Amezcua, who gets stronger emotionally by the day, raising three boys, ages 3, 6 and 9.
“I feel I have more strength than I could have ever imagined,” Amezcua said. “If it were not for the encouraging staff at the Salvation Army, I don’t know if I get through this.”
The hurdles that have been in Amezcua’s life were seldom cleared easily. One stumble after another often left her on the move, searching for change.
The daughter of migrant workers in Hollister, the San Benito High grad learned at an early age that working in the fields wasn’t the life she wanted.
“I picked lettuce, chili peppers,
strawberries and onions when I was 13,” Amezcua said. “My mom was strict. I was very rebellious. I didn’t always hang with the right crowd. I didn’t have goals. I was confused. I wasn’t the best student. But I knew I wanted a better life for myself.”
A life that would eventually see Amezcua get married and see the arrival of three boys. Yet, it’s been a tumultuous ride for more than a decade.
From separations to restraining orders, the ordeal left Amezcua mentally in a bad state as she struggled to care for her kids.
She moved to Yuma after her firstborn, before returning to her husband. After her second son, more marital issues arose while she was living in Los Banos. She moved in with an aunt in Santa Maria.
“I really liked living down there,” Amezcua said. “I had a good job. I liked being close to Pismo Beach. I felt like I was in a good place.”
That is until her uncle came in one night and allegedly made sexual advances toward her.
“When I told my aunt, she asked me to leave,” Amezcua said. “I was so heartbroken. I had two sons and no home. So I moved back to Salinas. My husband promised things would change.”
And for a while, she had hope as both had jobs and they were living in a studio in Prunedale. Tragically her third pregnancy — which would have been a girl — resulted in a miscarriage.
“I fell into depression,” Amezcua said. “I wanted another baby. Two months later I’m pregnant with another boy.”
With three kids and neither she nor her husband working, Amezcua promised herself she wouldn’t continue this path of uncertainty in her personal life.
“He kept saying he would change,” Amezcua said. “But then he was seeing someone else. He got himself into trouble. I kept saying I’m done. This time I stuck to it.”
Amezcua found shelter at the Natividad Emergency Shelter in Salinas. But it was temporary — three months max. It nearly
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didn’t last 24 hours.
“The first night was a disaster,” Amezcua said. “There are curfews, a lot of rules. My son is crying. My other slipped on a wet floor. It was a horrific start. But we got through it.”
What followed was an application to the Salvation Army. Amezcua received a phone call. An appointment ensued. After years of insecurity, she had hope.
“T he r e are o t he r s with similar situations,” Amezcua said “I learned that I didn’t need to be in an abusive relationship. I learned how to budget for myself. I did daily expenses. I learned how to be self- efficient.”
A Documentation Specialist with Child Care Services in Salinas, Amezcua was on the mend. Her spirits had been lifted. Her life was restored. Hope was turning into reality.
“The Salvation Army did so much for me and continues to do so much,” Amezcua said. “I was provided with child care services, a safe haven. I’ve learned so many different things.”
Her struggles aren’t completely over. She lost her sister to cancer, crushing her and her three sons, leaving a void in their life.
“She was my best friend,”
Amezcua said. “She was there for the birth of all three of my kids. It was so hard to lose her. The pain remains.”
As do the scars of a turbulent 11 years. Amezcua still receives therapy from being stabbed in the neck two weeks into a job as a then 19-year- old in a small town outside Firebaugh.
She still recalls the individual walking away as she lay on the ground in a puddle of blood at a car dealership she worked at, watching him get into a vehicle and leave as she called the police, and then her pastor.
There is still a potential custody battle with her estranged husband. But her voice rises when the conversation turns to her life today, living in a three-bedroom apartment in Marina, minutes from the beach.
Amezcua hasn’t forgotten the strangers who gave gifts to her children while they
were living at the Salvation Army site in Seaside during the past two Christmases.
“It’s a special feeling to get gifts from a stranger,” Amezcua said. “I have got friends for life that I’ve met there. We cried, we smiled and said ‘OK let’s go.’
“I’ve learned how to survive.”
The 19-year-old who tried cosmetology school is dabbling with skincare again as a side job now, a passion for her.
“The Salvation Army program helped me grow as a person,” said Amezcua. “I don’t know if I had to do it all over again, I’d change a thing.
“We have different paths we have to take. Mine was rough. Once I’m in a better place, I want to adopt a family in need and give back. I’m so blessed.”