Faces of Hope: Molly
“I’m Molly and this is my family. My husband and three children and I have been staying here at Samaritan House shelter. But we had some cake today to celebrate—we’re moving out. We got housing through Salvation Army and we’re moving soon. It’s a three-bedroom, two-bath apartment. Samaritan House has been very helpful. They made sure we didn’t have out-of-pocket expenses. Having three meals a day definitely helped, too. We can’t wait to pay it forward. We want to come back and volunteer. Our experience with homelessness began two years ago. We went to the VOA because we didn’t get…
Faces of Hope: women’s shelter
I’m 31 years old. I had a fiancé once, but he committed suicide. I also had a job at Good Times. Then my brother, who is mentally ill and schizophrenic, got my keys and took off with my car. My ID and wallet were in there. I lost it all. We had no other choice than to be at shelters. I’m so grateful for the people at the women’s shelter. They don’t want to see us as homeless. They give me a warm place to lay my head. I’m very thankful for this place. You feel so lonely sometimes, experiencing…
Faces of Hope: Rick
I’m Rick and this is my daughter, Marie. She’s 7 years old. We’re moving in to our own apartment this week. We’ve been staying on the family floor at Samaritan House shelter until we could get back on our feet. I was kicked out of my Lakewood apartment and we ended up in a hotel. I tried to make ends meet by driving for Uber, but we needed to get stabilized. The best part of Samaritan House is they helped me get her on a schedule. I was in combat arms in the army for seven years while in Germany.…
Faces of Hope: Judy
My name is Judy, and I am 56 years old. I was working full time but then needed a total knee replacement. Since I was unable to work, after six weeks of not being able to pay my rent, I was kicked out. This began my journey of homelessness. I started out living in my car and then was able to get a good job. But I was in a car accident and totaled my vehicle. So, I had no place to stay and I was walking to work. So, I decided to go to Catholic Charities to ask about…
Faces of Hope: Sherrell and Tiffany
Today our family is moving out of Samaritan House shelter. We found an apartment! We’re used to paying $525 for rent. Now we’re paying $1,350. The apartment has a lot of pluses. The boys will go to a good school in our neighborhood. We left our hometown in Illinois to seek a better life for our family. There were shootings and gang banging all around. I’ve been there. I’ve done it all. I lived that life. I don’t want my kids to live that life. This was my chance to make it better for my family. I’m 47 now and…
