Through-out the history of Welcome House, there has been a great deal of success experienced by our clients. These are just some of the success stories being shared.
Through-out the history of Welcome House, there has been a great deal of success experienced by our clients. These are just some of the success stories being shared.
When Tom came to Welcome House he was living on the street and suffering from an addiction to alcohol. He was severely depressed, anxious and was estranged from his wife. After coming to Welcome House several times under the influence of alcohol and exhibiting signs of anxiety and depression, Tom’s Service Coordinator suggested that he go into a detoxification program. His Service Coordinator was under the impression Tom’s alcohol use was his attempt to self-medicate his mental health symptoms. With the help of his Service Coordinator, Tom decided to attack his mental health issues by enrolling in a medication management program and a detoxification program. Throughout the process, Tom was able to learn much about his behavior and what triggers caused him to be anxious. After spending eight days in a detoxification program, Tom emerged a new man with a fresh focus. Immediately we were able to set him up at a local homeless shelter for his temporary housing.
Tom is now in recovery for mental illness and alcohol abuse. He has found a renewed spiritual connection and has recommitted his time to his wife and family. Tom has reported now being alcohol free for several months and is currently on medications stabilizing his mood so that he can cope with life’s obstacles. Tom has recently participated in a video at the homeless shelter—teaching and sharing his story of success with others.
Julie is a 26-year old mom of 4 boys, ages 2, 4, 6, and 8; she was living with family but the situation became violent, and she had to leave. When Julie came to the shelter she had no income. Julie was given a room for her family to stay in and the shelter provided for the family’s daily needs, including food, hygiene supplies, laundry facilities and 24-hour staff support. The Lead Shelter Aide assisted Julie with transferring the children to a local school and provided needed school supplies. The 4 year-old was enrolled in preschool, and the youngest son was enrolled in daycare. It was December, and Julie’s family was ‘adopted’ for the holidays and had a very nice Christmas despite celebrating in a shelter. Julie was able to job seek, and she found a job quickly at a local restaurant. She also reported some depression, and her Service Coordinator referred her for counseling. One of Julie’s sons was also referred for counseling to address the trauma he had witnessed. Julie was assisted with Rapid Re-Housing Program funds to move into an apartment and signed her lease just in time to ring in the New Year in their own apartment.
Melissa has been a resident at the Gardens of Greenup Apartments for almost 2 years. During this time she has worked with the Housing Services Coordinator (HSC) to enter the program, establish goals, and complete her education. Melissa lost state assistance in late2014 after receiving benefits for 5 years, and was in danger of losing her housing for herself and her three children. Melissa applied to the program and began working on a construction degree. The HSC worked with Melissa to obtain a part time job that would allow her to earn the money she needed to support her family and still complete her school requirements. Despite the challenge, she coordinated times to meet with the HSC around her work schedule, and was able to continue her education plan. Melissa graduated in March of 2015 from her vocational training program. She then worked with the HSC and the Employment Specialist to obtain a position at a local manufacturing company. Because of her hard work she was promoted within six months to full time status and obtained a job with benefits and pay that will allow her to support her family and maintain housing. Melissa now plans to move into a new housing development in Covington and continue her education by obtaining a master’s degree in the future.
Randy has been a client in the Payee Program at Welcome House for many years. Randy’s wife passed away four years ago and he had no other living relatives or many close friends. Randy is of diminished capacity and needs help paying his bills and managing his money. Six months ago Randy was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Recently, Randy became friendly with a man and woman who were homeless and invited them to stay at his place for a few days. As the days added up to weeks and they hadn’t moved, Randy realized they were using drugs, but could not get them to leave his apartment. Because of Randy’s diminished capacity, he did not realize the danger these people were to him. One day Randy came in to pick up a check at Welcome House and his Payee noticed bruises and cuts across the top of his head. He said that he had bumped his head into the door at home. The payee questioned this and a decision was made to move Randy to a motel to get him out of this living situation. He later admitted that the people in his apartment had taken him by the collar and pushed his head into the door intentionally. Because they had been invited in, the police were not able to evict the people staying in his apartment. The Landlord had to take Randy to court and evict him in order to get the other people out of his apartment. This eviction caused him to lose his temporary housing. Soon, with Welcome House’s help, another apartment was found for him and Welcome House paid the rent for two months through our rental assistance program. Through all this, Randy lost everything he owned but we assisted him with getting a new bed, TV, and all new clothes and personal necessities. Randy is now being treated for his cancer and getting stronger physically.
Natasha came to Welcome House after being homeless and living in the streets. She had been staying at a domestic violence shelter, due to a previous situation where she was being physically abused by her partner. She left the center to stay with friends, but the situation was not stable and they were unable to let her stay there. She then came to stay at the Welcome House Shelter. Natasha expressed an interest in getting a job but did not think she could get one because she had a limited work history and mental health issues that posed barriers to her obtaining and maintaining a job. However, her Employment Specialist was able to work through those challenges. Her Employment Specialist completed a vocational assessment to determine Natasha’s skills and interests, worked on establishing a career plan, developed a resume and cover letter, practiced mock interview experiences, conducted job readiness training, and secured interview clothing from a community partner. After working with Employment Services for two months Natasha obtained a job and within six months earned a raise and was Employee of the Month. As a result of her increased income she was able to maintain a two bedroom apartment for her and her daughter.