As part of her job as corporate engagement director for the Salvation Army’s Golden State Division, Morgane Dussault is attempting to raise tens of millions of dollars to give new life to their Silicon Valley headquarters in San Jose.
It’s only fitting, Dussault says, because the Salvation Army has, more than once, given Dussault a new life.
Growing up in Chico, Dussault was on a path to becoming whatever it was she dreamed of. A straight-A student, she had her sights set on studying international business at Pepperdine University. That path, though, would end up taking unimaginable twists when, one night at a high school party, she tried hard drugs for the first time.
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“It was like something clicked inside of my brain and instantly left me wanting more,” Dussault said.
She would drop out of school just six months later and struggled, on and off, for the next 15 years with drug addiction.
"Nobody wakes up and says, 'I want to be homeless today. I want to be an addict. I want to go and throw my entire life away and live on the streets addicted, hopeless, and lost,'" she said. "But that's where I found myself and I really didn't know if hope was ever possible for me."
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Hope, however, came from an unexpected source: a fellow addict. Dussault confessed to the woman that, deep down, she wanted to change her life.
“She said, ‘If you want to change your life and you’re serious about it, then you need to go to the Salvation Army,'" Dussault said.
Not long after that, Dussault found herself walking through the doors of the Salvation Army in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District.
“The minute I walked through the doors of the Salvation Army, I was met with nothing but love," Dussault said. "Love, acceptance. They walked alongside me until I could stand on my own two feet. They believed in me until I could believe in myself.”
Life changed dramatically again, but for the better this time. She was able to find a job in San Francisco and went back to school. The bright future, however, came undone once more after the unexpected death of her 3-month-old son.
“Within three months I was homeless, addicted, alone,” Dussault said. “I had lost my job, I lost my home, I threw away my college education."
After spending time in prison, Dussault returned to the Salvation Army again, vowing to make her recovery permanent this time.
“I started working and getting a job and providing for my family," she said. "It was a struggle. It was really, really hard, but every single day I showed up and I put in the work and kept working and working to rebuild my life."
Grateful for all they had done for her, Dussault began volunteering for the Salvation Army, trying to do for others what had been done for her.
"I thought, 'If I can make the struggle just a little bit easier for someone then I can really make a difference,'" she said.
Dussault eventually came to work with the Salvation Army, rising to her current position. She seeks ways in which Bay Area businesses can collaborate with the Salvation Army, offering things like job training or donations toward the new headquarters.
“I realized all of the experiences, all of the adversity, all of the struggles that I went through had all led up to this point and shaped me into the person I am today and it's the reason why I am so inspired and so committed to making a difference for others," she said.
