From Shelter Resident to Housing Navigator: Jade’s Journey with Samaritan House

From Shelter Resident to Housing Navigator: Jade’s Journey with Samaritan House

Jade often sees the faces of her own family—her mother, aunts and grandmothers—in the women she now helps at Samaritan House 48th. Having once been in their position, she understands their struggles. More than 20 years ago, Jade herself lived in a Catholic Charities shelter.

“I might’ve been six or seven when we got there. Things were rough at home before that. My parents struggled with addiction and there was domestic violence in the house,” Jade recalled.

For three months, Jade, along with her two siblings and mother, lived at Marisol Homes (formerly Father Ed Judy House), a long-term shelter for single women and children. That time made a lasting impact on her, introducing her to a sense of stability and community she hadn’t known before.

“We had chores and structure. It helped me understand what community meant. I met other kids who were going through similar struggles, which made it feel less isolating.”

After their shelter stay, their caseworker helped them transition into subsidized housing, where Jade spent the rest of her childhood. But her time at the shelter never left her.

Years later, Jade returned to volunteer at Samaritan House during Christmas, serving a meal. Seeing women facing the same struggles she once experienced brought everything full circle for her. It became clear that working at Catholic Charities as a housing navigator was the next step for her.

At 22, Jade also made a life-changing decision to break the cycle of trauma in her family by adopting her two-year-old brother, Josiah, after his mother, her father’s ex-girlfriend, died from an overdose.

“His mother had passed away from an overdose, and he’d already been through so much. I knew I couldn’t let him fall through the cracks,” she explained. “There were moments I worried about making it all work, but knowing he was my purpose kept me going.”

Adopting Josiah changed her life. Though her job at the shelter is emotionally demanding, picking up her now third-grader after school reminds her why it’s all worth it.

Jade’s journey has come full circle. Once a child in need of shelter and stability, she’s now at Catholic Charities, helping others with challenges like addiction, family issues and housing insecurity as a housing navigator.

“I see women come in with nothing, unsure of how to move forward. They need support,” she said. “Recently, a woman came to me just needing someone to talk to—no solutions, just someone who would listen.”