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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When I was in the hospital, I found out that I had type II diabetes and high
blood pressure. After learning about my diabetes, I quit drinking. They
also helped keep my mental illness in check. When I wasn’t staying at a
hospital, I would live anywhere I could. Sometimes this meant sleeping on
the El, the bus, or at the Daley Center in downtown Chicago.
To make some money, I started participating in research studies for mental
illness. Many of my peers need medication, but they are worried about side
“When I wasn’t staying
at a hospital, I would
live anywhere I could.
Sometimes this meant
sleeping on the El, the
bus, or at the Daley
Center in downtown
Chicago.”
38
effects. I thought it was a chance to help
myself and other people. I spent anywhere
from two weeks to two months doing
inpatient research studies, or anywhere
from six months to a year for outpatient
research studies. To this day, I continue
to earn supplemental income from
participating in these studies.
When I was in the hospital doing an
inpatient research study, I met a guy named
Steve who was drying out from crack. He reintroduced me to Thresholds
and what services they had to offer to people with mental illness.
The Bridge Team of Thresholds helped me with several life-changing
services. First, they helped me reapply for social security benefits, and this
time I was approved. This allowed me to live full time at my own place,
instead of having to leave and go back to the hospital when I ran out of
money. I got a room of my own, and still do.
Then they got me connected to mental health services: this includes
medication, a psychiatrist, and weekly group therapy sessions that use
evidence-based methods. Group therapy was scary at first, but as I met new
people and began hearing their stories, I learned that there were people
worse off than me and that I was not alone. Supportive groups are offered
every day of the week at Thresholds, and some are even run by people who
have been through the Thresholds program.
I began to feel safer and more stable in my living situation, and I developed
friendships with others in my apartment building. I even started dating.
With these supports, I have now lived on my own for over ten years. That is
why I want to help spread the word on supportive housing.
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