Jennifer’s excitement is so pervasive, she can’t sleep!
After all, she’s just “graduated” from her room in Pathlight HOME’s Safe Haven Program to her very own efficiency apartment in our Homes for New Beginnings Program. Though both are located at Maxwell Garden Apartments, her new home affords a more independent existence, a place to put her “stuff” and new dresser, room for a small couch, as well as the support of her case manager.
With a personal history she says is “tough to talk about,” Jennifer grew up in a financially comfortable family, having a “bunch of stuff,” and graduating high school in Ft. Lauderdale. Fast-forward to adulthood, she’s had a hard time keeping jobs over the years, has moved from place to place, lived in a shelter, and landed on the streets. She carried or stored her “stuff” in a variety of places, eventually losing it all.
In March 2014, Jennifer was referred from the streets to our Safe Haven Program and hasn’t looked back since. She credits her Case Manager, Rotoya, and is grateful to the entire staff.
“They helped me in a lot of different ways…I was able to take care of my health; they made sure I took my meds. Now I’m okay and watch the clock (myself). I am able to relax and be at home…be safe.” She obtained disability benefits, enabling her to pay her modest expenses, is now free of alcohol and properly medicated for her bipolar disorder and other medical issues.
Maintaining sobriety after years of drinking is no small feat! In addition to the 12-Step meetings she’s attended, Jennifer found a new passion to fill many of the hours she used to drink – knitting and learning to crochet. She’s taking classes at the Orange County Library downtown and proudly displays the certificates she’s earned.
In the midst of knitting an impressive blanket for her adult son in Atlanta, with the Falcons colors “red, white, black and silver sparkle,” Jennifer reveals another wonderful change in her life since coming into Pathlight HOME programs at Maxwell Garden. She’s repaired the relationships with her son and also her mother, who lives in a nearby county. “I’m close to my mom now. She’s been very supportive.” Jennifer knows it’s the result of ”being here, being sober, being clean.”
“The past is the past! I feel welcome and appreciated here. Everyone is quiet and respectful,” she says about Maxwell Garden and her new abode. “This is permanent. I’m done moving. This is home!”
Talk about a changed life!
