Build­ing Strong Foun­da­tions: A For­mer Clien­t’s Check In

April 01, 2022

“Mis­sion Moments” are mean­ing­ful expe­ri­ences in which KYC’s mis­sion is real­ized. This blog includes a mes­sage shared by a for­mer client about their pre­vi­ous expe­ri­ence with our Com­mu­ni­ty Liv­ing pro­grams. We are hon­ored to share our clients’ expe­ri­ences, grate­ful for the amaz­ing work of our staff, and proud of the deep rela­tion­ships formed through our com­mit­ment to build­ing health­i­er com­mu­ni­ties together.

Check­ing In

“I had nev­er had sta­ble hous­ing before; real­ly not at all since I left home at 16. I would sleep on peo­ple’s couch­es some­times friends or fam­i­ly or some­one I met. Or I would bunk at a shel­ter, or I would get a job and hus­tle to get enough mon­ey for an apart­ment but then get kicked out after a few months because I could­n’t pay or neigh­bors would call the cops too much. I heard about the Myer’s build­ing from the hous­ing sub­sidy alert and thought I would try.

When I moved in, I hon­est­ly was­n’t expect­ing any­thing dif­fer­ent than I had before. It was hard to have hope and believe what was being explained to me about sup­ports. I had no rea­son to. But it was real. You helped me move in and made sure I had clean sheets and new dish­es and even got to shop some donat­ed items to make it home. I know I was dif­fi­cult and had trou­ble with the rules. You made sure I did­n’t have to meet with the build­ing man­ag­er by myself and con­vinced them to not give me vio­la­tions and give me anoth­er try. It took me awhile, I tried but I know I caused you headache. But you all believed in me. And your team was around when I need­ed some­thing even 3a.m. so I did­n’t get high.

After a few years, I final­ly got my head on straight and was able to get a job and actu­al­ly hold onto it. I moved out of Myer’s a cou­ple years ago and into an apart­ment near my fam­i­ly. No way I could have done this with­out you and the oth­er ladies who helped me. I am still work­ing and pay my rent right away even if I do spend too much on cig­a­rettes and cof­fee. I haven’t had to talk to any police in 3 years.

My land­lord likes me and we some­times watch bas­ket­ball games togeth­er. I am not scared of get­ting kicked out because I can make my rent and get along with neigh­bors and keep my radio down. I don’t know why I could­n’t do it before, it seems stu­pid now. But I learned how to han­dle my emo­tions when I would get mad or frus­trat­ed and only drink some­times with friends. Myer’s was so much help but it was time for me to go after 5 years or so. I was ready to live with­out the safe­ty net and help so I don’t get kicked out. And now I am work­ing and live in my own place near my broth­er and dare I say happy.

You saved me. Ken­neth Young saved me. Thank you. I will make sure and let you know each year that I’m doing ok.”

Togeth­er We Thrive.

KYC is hon­ored to part­ner with com­mu­ni­ty mem­bers as they build strong foun­da­tions to reach their long-term goals. To learn more about our men­tal health and Com­mu­ni­ty Liv­ing pro­grams, check out this infor­ma­tion­al page, learn about our team, read more about the impact of our com­mu­ni­ty-based pro­grams, or con­tact our team at 847−524−8800.

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