A Fresh Start – Carolynn’s Story

Carolynn never expected that trying to improve her life would lead to her experiencing homelessness, especially at the time she did. “Gosh, who waits till they’re darn near 60 to be homeless. That’s a heck of a time to be trying to be homeless.”

She had taken a big leap of faith by moving away from family to enter a sober living program. Carolynn’s fresh start came to a halt, however, after an unexpected illness resulted in a two-week hospital
stay. While in the hospital, she was discharged from her chemical treatment program and couldn’t stay in her sober housing, leaving her with nowhere else to go once she was healthy enough to exit the hospital.

Carolynn came to the Our Saviour’s Housing Emergency Shelter as a part of our medical respite partnership with M Health Fairview. This collaboration provides those experiencing homelessness the opportunity to continue receiving medical care and care coordination from M Health Fairview, pairing that with case management services from our shelter staff.

Upon arriving at our shelter, Carolynn was immediately struck by the kindness and care she received from our staff, who helped her adjust to being at the shelter. “You just don’t meet people that are so caring and that have your best interest at heart. And I felt that the staff really did.”

Having limited mobility, Carolynn highlighted how the people she met at our shelter went above and beyond to help her during her stay, such as moving furniture in her room so she could navigate it safely. “The concern for my health that I received from the staff was just awesome. It’s like they knew what my physical abilities were, and if they saw that it was going to be something hard for me, they would try to make it as easy for me as possible.”

Much of Carolynn’s time was spent developing skills that helped her continue making progress with her case management team. “I learned to keep a calendar. I learned to write things down. I learned to plan better. That’s one of the big things that I learned while I was at the shelter.” She also improved her mobility with physical therapy exercises and support from the onsite medical respite nurse.

Carolynn’s hard work during her time at the shelter paid off. After about three months staying at our shelter, she moved into a one-bedroom apartment this spring. Now with stable housing, Carolynn can focus more energy on accomplishing other goals in her life, such as continuing to improve her health and celebrating holidays with her grandchildren and son. She’s also thinking about getting a dog, something she’s been looking forward to after having to rehome a beloved pet. She says her time at the shelter was the transition she needed to be able to live the life she wants to lead.

“It was just that bridge of being at Our Saviour’s. It gave me something. It gave me hope.”