October 2016 Newsletter

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Homeless Not Jobless

Chris has been employed at the same place for four- and-a-half years; he has been sleeping on a Mission bunk bed for just a few months. He needed the Mission so that he could keep his job. This emergency shelter is truly just that for him. Without a safe place to sleep, eat, shower and do laundry, he could have lost his job, compounding his troubles. And his situation is not uncommon here. Homelessness is too often associated with addictions or work ethic, not individual circumstances. Chris is utilizing the Mission as an opportunity to reorganize his life and con- sider how his next home will be more stable than the last.

It was complicated. He was living alone, renting a trailer from his girlfriend’s mother. The mother and daughter lived in a separate trailer nearby. The arrangement included an expectation of him babysitting his girlfriend’s child, even doing some of their household chores. The lines between friendship, landlord and responsibilities became blurred. When his personal relationship declined, so did the security of his rental. He lost his girlfriend and home at the same time. He learned a lesson about truly independent living and saving money for a fallback plan.

Chris was homeless, not jobless. His job at a local call center has really been a stabilizing factor in his life. He said, “If the Mission was not here, I would have been at work saying, ‘Hey, does anyone have a couch or backyard?’ The Mission has allowed me to find firmer ground, a constant that I can count on. When I get o work, I can relax, talk to people, go to chapel, shower, sleep – like college all over again. I lived on campus.” He has a college degree in General Education with an emphasis in music and computer science.

Consistent employment has been a significant accomplishment for Chris. He has attention-de cit disorder. In certain situations, employers have considered him a slow reader or too slow to communicate a point. He said, “I had been on medication as long as I could remember. I had a monthly evaluation and got medication. I stopped it in 2006, right after high school. I wanted to make it through college on my own. I don’t want anything to help me pro- cess my surroundings.” For Chris, it seems to be working, but not everyone with ADD is as fortunate. He has found success as a telemarketing communication representative. He said, “The difference at this current job is that it is a ‘read it as you see it’ job.” He reads a script, takes call-in orders for products seen in catalogs or on TV, and does customer service for certain products, trouble shooting malfunctions.

Further stability at the Mission comes from our foundation of faith in the Lord. Chris said, “Having this consistency going to chapel, I can Homeless Not Jobless He said being here is like living on a college campus all over again. always turn to that one key center stone throughout my day; from that, I can hold up whatever my day as to hold. I can speak to God, Who listens and understands. It is amazing that I have a heavenly Father that is with me wherever I go, even if my biological father was not the greatest. Jesus is the greatest friend I have. He carried me through every time I cried, every time I had a triumph. He kept me from feeling like the absolute loneliest person, even with my disorder. I could still be me, and He is my Savior.” Chris was homeless, not faithless, and not without hope.

He began living in our dormitory in May; then in August, he moved into one of our Transitional Housing Program rental rooms. Now he has a private room, low rent, meals provided, just one chapel per week and a later curfew. Before long, he will fully transition into a self-reliant living situation, more firmly grounded and wiser than before.