One Family's Story

Garcia and his wife Gwen entered Humility of Mary Shelter on February 11, 2009 after they became unemployed and were unable to continue to pay rent.

Garcia, a veteran, accessed benefits from the Veterans Program at Humility of Mary Shelter, and was employed by Goodwill Industries within one week. Through additional assistance from the Veterans Program at Humility of Mary Shelter, Garcia was able to secure two more jobs, therefore bringing his total jobs to three.

Gwen was in need of medical attention when she entered the shelter, and was able to access the local drop-in clinic. After additional testing was complete, Gwen was sent to a local hospital and then onto a regional medical center to receive treatment for a serious medical condition. With assistance from Gwen's service coordinator, Gwen was able to qualify for medical insurance and therefore will not have to worry about finances for her medical treatment.

Garcia and Gwen have been able to transition into their own apartment after only staying one month at the shelter. They are both connected to area agencies which allow them to access services they need and yet have the independence of living in their own apartment.

Kevin (Veteran)

My name is Kevin and I am currently residing at Humility of Mary Shelter, Inc. I am in the Veteran's program. HMSI has turned my life around tremendously. I was homeless and on the streets of Davenport since October 20, 2006. The shelter has assisted me in getting eyeglasses, dentures and given me back my self esteem. They have provided me with a variety of different evening groups and have assisted me in gaining employment. For someone like me; a severe alcoholic, HMSI has given me a safe place to be and the support I need to stay sober. HMSI and the Veteran's Administration have not given up on me. They trust and have faith in me. Special thanks to Cathy Jordan, HMSI staff and representatives of the VA.

Teresa (Transitional Housing Participant)

I have had a lot of wonderful things happen since I arrived at HMSI. I finally got to see a psychiatrist and I got needed medication I could not afford. Through donations I have received food, clothing and hygiene supplies. I have a great service coordinator who has been a constant guide for me with her knowledge of community resources. I am grateful for all that I have received, including a roof over my head, a shower daily, great staff that care about my well being and people along the way who are in the same situation as myself. I continue to search for a job and remain optimistic about getting one. I am considering going back to school and if all goes well obtaining housing through HMSI. HMSI has turned my outlook on everything completely around. I am so glad God guided me to HMSI. Peace.

From Teresa's Coordinator, Ashley

When I first began working with Teresa, she was an applicant for our Transitional Housing Program at HMSI. This program is designed to help individuals with a disability receive more support and they receive up to 90 more days in shelter as long as they are actively working on their individual goals. Teresa was a non-talkative individual who reported that she had been without medication for a few years, but she was still doing her best to function in the world. HMSI was able to help get Teresa the medication she needed through our contract with Vera French Mental Health Center.

Since Teresa has gotten back on her medication, I have seen a 100% turn around in Teresa's overall appearance and how she conducts herself. She is now a very outgoing individual with a sense of humor who is actively working on her employment and housing goals. Teresa has reported in several different meetings how grateful she is to have HMSI in the community and to be able to connect to resources she never knew about before. It has been a privilege to work with Teresa and to be able to witness this change in her. I look forward to keeping in contact with her after she leaves shelter to hear about her continued successes.

Brian (Housing First Participant)

When I went to the University of Iowa to major in English and become a famous author, I didn't exactly have the journey all mapped out. Indeed I wasn't even sure if I could reach the destination.

Well I'm 42 years old and although I have had brushes with fame I'm no Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I didn't know that the journey would be so hard. I never counted on spending nights on the floor in the winter with 60+ guys. Everybody's journey to, during and from the Humility of Mary Shelter is a personal one. Me, I had gotten booted out of the shelter in Muscatine where I was struggling with my disability, lousy jobs, and alcoholism. When I got to Humility of Mary I witnessed others struggling with their sobriety and heard the ambulance every night. I saw that was my future if I didn't finally wise up.

All I wanted out of a disability check was a place of my own in which to write. I don't know if it was the luck of the draw or God smiled on me but I got an apartment through Housing First, which is part of the Humility of Mary Shelter. It's nice to have a place to call home after so many years of living in shelters. I still haven't gotten a computer but I can compose my masterpieces in a notebook or at the library.

I guess being rich and famous will have to wait. But, I think the answer is about being useful with the skills I have like writing this little bit for the Shelter Annual Report. I am happy with everything they have done for me although it was rough actually staying in the shelter.

In my own words (Humility of Mary Shelter Client)

I arrived at the Humility of Mary Shelter at dusk on a chilly autumn evening wanting nothing more than a reasonably warm place to lay down and sleep. My hike across Davenport that day from the Interstate 80 interchange on the edge of town had seemed to last forever, especially considering the extra weight of the backpack I lugged that held my life's final possessions. When the lights went out that night at 10:30, I was grateful to occupy a thin plastic "mattress" on the shelter floor along with about twenty other men sharing the same accommodations.

The shelter was crowded and a little noisy that first night, but I and two other new arrivals were greeted and reassured by a slightly gruff but obviously kind-hearted gentleman seated at the front desk. He explained the shelter rules and routines as though he had memorized them and admonished us to seek him out if we had any questions or concerns. The man struck me more as a paternal figure fretting over his slightly unruly charges than a shelter supervisor tasked with keeping sixty indigent men in line and out of his hair. This first encounter with a Humility of Mary Shelter staff member instilled not only a sense of relief, but also a feeling of genuine acceptance that went a long way to lift some of the tremendous weight I was feeling at that point in my life.

The events that brought me to the shelter are by no means unique, nor I suspect are they unfamiliar to the shelter staff. I am a fifty year old alcoholic who after several years of sobriety was unable (or perhaps unwilling) to cope with and manage some of life's uglier twists and turns. I started drinking heavily and smoking crack cocaine three months ago, and eventually lost everything to pawn shops and drug dealers. This pattern of events is also very familiar to me. I have been homeless and destitute several times in my life; always as a result of my choice to succumb to the short-term relief alcohol and other drugs offer when nothing else seems to help.

Within 48 hours of my arrival at the shelter I met a staff Service Coordinator, and I quickly understood that I would not be working alone as I started to rebuild my life. This young lady seemed genuinely concerned with and interested in my desire to remain sober, find a job, secure an apartment of my own and eventually return to college to obtain my Bachelor of Arts degree. I was enrolled in my final semester when I started drinking again and would have graduated on December 16, 2009.

During the twenty-one days I have resided at the shelter my Service Coordinator has provided me with a wealth of information, referred me to mental and physical health providers, conducted job searches on my behalf, tipped me off to promising employers, and perhaps most importantly, has been an attentive, responsive and compassionate audience whenever I have approached her with questions or concerns. In fact, all of the shelter staff has consistently treated me with a level of respect and dignity that has been painfully absent in many of my encounters out in the world.

As I write this I am still very tired, but not in the same sense as when I arrived here. At times I do feel frustrated that I have not yet secured a job, especially considering my six-day a week, 8-10 hour routine of riding city buses and walking long distances to fill out job applications. Even so, my efforts have not gone unnoticed by staff members and some of the other men staying here. They have all acknowledged what I am attempting to do and encouraged me to keep on giving it my best efforts.

My experience here keeps evolving; each day presents new challenges that if faced on my own could easily draw me back into the dark place I was living before I got here. I feel no less than fortunate, and indeed very privileged, to be a guest of the Humility of Mary Shelter. Thank you and may God Bless you all.

~In my own words (Humility of Mary Shelter Client)