08/28/2026
YEARS LATER: CHANTAL'S STORY AFTER AFC
I am honored to write the story of former Family Center participant and dear friend, Chantal Pelletier โ now a thriving Anacortes businesswoman who never hesitates to show up for others. In fact, after my mother passed away this spring, Chantal helped me sort through belongings and run a garage sale - always arriving with snacks and compassion.
What I didn't know was that, at 21 and pregnant, Chantal once came to the Family Center looking for something most of us take for granted: a safe place to live.
After being kicked out of her home as a teenager, she stayed with friends, then spent years couch-surfing before learning she was expecting her daughter. At the same time, she was being stalked, so safety
became her top priority. The Family Center provided the secure housing and support she needed to prepare for motherhood and begin building a stable future.
Years later, Chantal turned a few pop-ups into the beloved Chilly Rain Retro vintage shop in downtown Anacortes, where she now helps other
women rediscover their confidence.
Looking back, she says, โAt this point, I feel like everything that I've gone through, if I can help other women and guide them into a better situation, and a more self-confident situation, that is all for a reason,โ she says.
Chantal's story is a powerful reminder that the women who come through the Family Center's doors are not defined by the challenges they're facing. Given safety, support, and opportunity, they can build extraordinary futures - and often become the ones who lift others up along the way.
By Elizabteh Baker
Read Chantal's full story at https://www.anacortesfamily.org/client-stories/chantal
