It’s Been One Heck of an Adventure
Holly’s adventure started when she left California to pursue a nursing degree in Florida. The eight-year Army veteran and her three young children were going to stay with a friend to save money. But when she arrived, he dropped her and her children off at a cheap motel and she never saw him again.
“It was terrifying,” Holly recalls. “I had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. No friends. No family. I was literally on my own.” Holly didn’t know it, but she did have friends nearby: Vincentian CARES and you.
A call to a local hotline referred Holly to Vincentian CARES and her adventure took a positive turn. A case manager and housing specialist
got Holly into the Rapid Rehousing program. Within two months, the
family was in a home of their own! “I had never gotten help like that
before,” says Holly. “It was awesome.”
Many individuals and families in our community are experiencing the crisis of homelessness right now. With your help, Vincentian CARES has housed an average of 63 households, families, and individuals per month over the past three years, but the need is even greater.
Your support gives more hurting people the resources to establish stable, productive lives and never become homeless again.
Today, Holly attends nursing school. She and her children successfully exited the Rapid Rehousing program and are living independently now. “Being homeless was terrifying,” she admits. “If not for the help we got from Vincentian CARES, I don’t know where we’d be. Now that I’m on my own, there are new challenges, but it’s okay. I have references from Vincentian CARES and it’s not scary anymore.”
What’s more, Holly’s new place was furnished by donations to the Vincentian CARES Community Thrift Store and by other generous partners. “We walked into a home, not an empty space,” she says gratefully. “It would have been a while before I could afford these things. I can focus instead on my kids and my classes.”
Free from worrying about where she and her children are going to sleep, Holly can also focus on their future … and how she can share some of the blessings she has been given. “I’ll finish school in three years, and I would like to work with a full-time nursing service to do humanitarian missions.”
Sometimes people who are committed to serving others need a helping hand themselves. You can help more people like Holly, building them up so they can pay it forward and allow your support to resonate for many years.
“I had never had to ask for help, so being in this position was really hard,” Holly says. “I was so used to people slamming doors in my face. Vincentian CARES opened all the doors for me. The housing program is awesome. I am just super, super grateful. It’s been one heck of an adventure!”
“I have been trying to think of ways to repay what you’ve done for me,” says Holly. But the Good Samaritan in Luke’s Gospel never asked for repayment and neither do we. Like you, we simply want to help those in need. And like Holly, we are super, super grateful for you!
“How can you ever give back the amount that you have received? This program is awesome. And if I can share my story and it can help someone else that needs it …well, maybe that’s how I can pay it back.”
Holly transitioned from the Rapid Rehousing program in December and living independently. She and her children are THRIVING in their home, “We wouldn’t be here if wasn’t for Vincentian CARES. I have never gotten this much help.”