Meet the 2025 Life Change Program Graduates: Suzie Schlitzkus

After growing up in an abusive home as a child and then living on the street for decades, Suzie Schlitzkus was convinced she didn’t matter and no one would ever hear, or care, what she had to say.

As an adopted child, she was vulnerable to feelings of abandonment and rejection. Her father, who struggled with depression, spoke many hurtful words to her that made her believe she was unworthy of living in her parents’ home.

At 18 years old, she walked out and never returned. She believed homelessness was better than living in a place where she was unwelcome and unloved, and she began a pattern of living on the street that lasted her whole adult life.

“I believed what my father spoke over me, so I constantly sought approval in relationships that were co-dependent and toxic,” she shared. “This was the hardest and strongest addiction of my life.”

Suzie became a chameleon who would change into whatever a man wanted her to be, a trait that would lead her straight to meth, which a drug-dealing boyfriend introduced her to.

“In February of 2024, I couldn’t do it anymore,” she said. “I couldn’t just run to another relationship. I was empty and so I made the decision to return to Eugene and enter the Life Change Program.”

Through the program, she said God has restored a belief in herself, and her identity in Christ. She also received boldness and confidence to share honestly and from the heart.

“Through the Genesis process, I have been able to identify things in my past, the roots of my pain, and give them over to the Lord for healing,” Suzie said. “Through meetings, I have found a core group of people who love me, hold me accountable and support my journey.”

Now, she knows how to form healthy attachments to people and she uses her voice to express her gratitude and praise God for the transformation he’s worked in her.

“God uses every part of the Life Change Program to bring healing and real change,” Suzie said. 

Help us celebrate Suzie and the other graduates of the Life Change Program! Come and show your support for a group of men and women who have worked through incredible adversity to come to a place of healing, authentic change and new life.

 You are invited to her graduation ceremony!

Click the button below to join our Facebook event page, and get important updates, graduate news and more:

March 7

6 p.m.

City First Church

830 Madison Street, Eugene