Community Connection – a Place to Call Home
TrueNorth: a Lifesaver
Carla was homeless in Muskegon, and had spent a good deal of time in shelters there. As she put it, “I was in there so many times, everyone got to know me.” With encouragement from her church family, who didn’t want to see her on the streets or in a homeless shelter any more, she relocated to Oceana County, where she stayed in an attic bedroom of a church member’s house. Eventually,
with the help of one of our Housing Resource Specialists, Amy, she found a studio apartment to call her own, through our Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Program. PSH is a housing program for people who are chronically homeless; people who are sleeping someplace not meant for human habitation, tent, car, outside, shelter, etc., homeless for 12 consecutive months, or 12 months in a 3
year period.
Amy met with Carla a few times to complete applications for apartments. While doing case management, Amy was contacted by a local landlord who had two units open. They talked to Carla and let her pick which one would work best for her, which ended up being a first floor studio apartment. Amy says when they first toured the unit, Carla did a little twirl when they said she could have it. Carla is paying a portion of her rent, and the PSH program covers the rest. Carla is
learning to budget her money and save. Carla has also started volunteering at a nearby LOVE Inc. restore, and has definitely become a member of the local community. She said TrueNorth was a lifesaver and she would “recommend anybody to TrueNorth!”