A Place To Call Home
The seeds of change are found in everyday experience. The stories of people who live in supportive housing can shed light on important issues, such as what it is like to experience homelessness or live with mental illness or a disability. Because of this, during 2019, the Supportive Housing Providers Association (SHPA) and Housing Action Illinois partnered to bring a series of five workshops to help residents of permanent supportive housing explore telling stories to make a difference. The stories in this publication grew out of the workshops, and we are grateful to everyone whose experiences are shared in these pages. Together, we can build a more understanding, compassionate world. Our thanks to the Illinois Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund for making this collaboration possible.
The seeds of change are found in everyday experience. The stories of people who live in supportive housing can shed light on important issues, such as what it is like to experience homelessness or live with mental illness or a disability. Because of this, during 2019, the Supportive Housing Providers Association (SHPA) and Housing Action Illinois partnered to bring a series of five workshops to help residents of permanent supportive housing explore telling stories to make a difference. The stories in this publication grew out of the workshops, and we are grateful to everyone whose experiences are shared in these pages. Together, we can build a more understanding, compassionate world.
Our thanks to the Illinois Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund for making this collaboration possible.
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I got released from federal prison May 21 of 2014. My daughters were six
and seven. I got a job at a dry cleaner and I was in a halfway house for six
months. I applied and applied and applied for housing, but because of my
charge, nobody would give me public housing.
Finally, I was referred to the Southern Illinois Coalition for the Homeless,
and Dori did my intake. She’s one of my case managers. And they gave me
a home. On November 17, 2016, I moved my daughters into an apartment,
and I’ve lived in Marion since then. I take care of my kids by myself.
And I just want to give other people hope, because, I mean, five years—I
started over with nothing. And me and my daughters are doing great. I
go to school, I work two jobs, and
I take care of them, and neither
grandparents have anything to do
with my kids.
“I just want to give other
people hope, because, I
mean, five years—
I started over with nothing.
And me and my daughters
are doing great.”
I am going to school for nursing,
and it’s no guarantee that I’ll be
able to get a position, because I am
a felon, and it’s a drug charge. But
I’m going to it on just pure faith,
because they do have felony waivers. But it’s a process. I am in the LPN
program at John A. Logan Community College, and I am on the Student
Advisory Board. I plan to graduate with an Associate of Arts within a
year and have my LPN Certificate in two years. Then I will continue my
education to obtain my Registered Nursing degree.
Thank God for the coalition. If it was not for the help of the Southern
Illinois Coalition for the Homeless, I don’t know where I would be. I
have had a few emotional setbacks with my family, but I continue to push
forward despite what is thrown at me.
Never give up no matter how hard it
gets, keep pushing. There is light at
the end of the tunnel. You may not see
the light right away, that is why I keep
pushing because it is there. You never
know how strong you are until having
to be strong is the only choice you have.
Holly and Aaron in Mt. Vernon
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