Stories

Connie's world came crashing down when her marriage failed and she and her teen daughters began a slow slide towards homelessness. After 4 years of struggling to stay in housing, Connie and her daughters arrived on the doorstop of a shelter in Livermore. The shelter collaborates with TCHC by providing services in eastern Alameda County. As Connie says they were "scared, sad, uncertain, ashamed and even embarrassed", but they were welcomed with open arms, caring and the start of the comprehensive services which help people recover from trauma and homelessness and put together a new life.

Connie and her daughters had spent time in 2 shelters in Livermore when they began to receive services from the staff on the HOPE Project mobile clinic, a collaboration among TCHC and four other agencies. Connie worked with the case management staff and her family was accepted into the Linkages program which provides a housing subsidy for low or very low-income families. Connie is training for a medical position and working at night. She's determined to be successful and learn from all the people who have helped her.

Connie's story is not unusual. It often takes several programs and agencies and their staff members to turn a life around, even for someone as determined as Connie. Tri-City Homeless Coalition collaborates and cooperates with over 30 social service agencies, schools, clinics and other organizations in order to give homeless people in southern and eastern Alameda County the most effective assistance they can use so they can get their lives back on track like Connie did.

A young woman named Monica arrived at Sunrise Village with a two-month old baby. She had been battling a drinking problem, but she succeeded in staying sober with the help of the staff. She was able to begin addressing her other challenges, like housing and employment, with her case manager. Monica has another child, a daughter, who had been taken from her when the baby was born. Monica began to visit her daughter and repair that relationship. All of the custodial parents at Sunrise Village attend parenting classes and those classes and the parent support groups gave Monica more confidence and better parenting skills with both her children. Monica was particularly active at the shelter attending available classes and groups, getting as much help as she could.

After several months Monica became eligible for a Shelter + Care housing subsidy. She found an apartment in a neighborhood which had a high crime rate and plenty of temptation to go back to her old habits, but Monica was determined. She enrolled in school full-time, continued to visit her daughter and stayed close to her sobriety support group. After a year she was able to find another apartment in Fremont. Monica is now 6 months from graduation from nursing school and has full custody of her daughter. She feels proud and protective of her little family and full of hope for the future.

Nate has a story right out of TV. He went from a good job to using drugs to losing his home and family. In order to get away from a dangerous downward spiral he had to face homelessness.

This is when he found HOPE, the TCHC mobile clinic for homeless people and shelter clients. The HOPE Project has a case manager who drew Nate's story out of him. She literally gave him hope, as well as some of the practical benefits of the HOPE clinic, like help applying for medical benefits and clean clothing and toiletries.

The staff of the HOPE mobile clinic helped him get into Sunrise Village, TCHC's permanent homeless shelter in the Warm Springs area of Fremont. He was finally in a safe place, where he could eat and sleep and recharge his batteries. With the help of the HOPE Project he is finishing his work towards a GED (equivalency degree for a high school diploma) and will start college this fall. He is fulfilling his determination to stay off drugs and has been clean and sober for six months. His aspiration is to finish college and become a chef. He remembers his dramatic story in poems he writes.

Why Do I Cry Out
I cried out so I could be heard,
No one wants to hear me cry
I don't know why but I still cry
Everyone who is in my wing see me
But do they hear me when I cry out to them?
can someone please hear my cry?
I want to be heard just like you when you cry out to me
So please take the time to hear your friend
When they need you to hear them most
Your friend is crying out to you
Like when you cry out to them

Nate Williams 6-08-06

Steven and Jennifer have an all-too-common story. Steven had a good job for 7 years. He was able to support Jennifer and their son, Anthony, in an apartment. But like so many small businesses in the last few years, the business started to fail and to stave off collapse they laid off 100 workers.

Jennifer and Steven were facing Christmas with no money for the holidays and a stack of bills. They held on to their apartment for a few more months, but eventually lost the apartment. They spent months moving around from relatives' to friends' houses till they couldn't impose any longer.

They got to the top of the waiting list for Sunrise Village and moved into one of the family rooms. The sense of safety and privacy was a great relief. They were able to look for work without having the daily strain of figuring out where to spend the night. Jennifer and Steven have been working with their case managers on a plan for the future. Jennifer says, "The counselors here really show that they care." Both Steven and Jennifer have gotten work and Jennifer is considering going back to school. They are getting close to what they need for a down payment on a new apartment.

The couple is looking forward to spending holidays with the friends they have made at the shelter, in a safe caring environment, and Anthony is excited by stories he has heard of holidays past at Sunrise Village. The staff at Sunrise Village and many volunteers and donors create a wonderful and happy celebration for the children and adults at the shelter and at the other TCHC programs, like Winter Relief, BridgeWay Apartments and RISE clients. Anthony will remember his Sunrise Village holidays for a long time.