Submitted by a client of the Community Action Commission of Fayette County
I was homeless and living in my car for the past few years. I would stay with people a few times, maybe a week, every once in awhile. Other than that, I was 100 percent in my car. I was doing whatever I could to make just enough to eat. Every day was survival.
Through the Community Action Commission of Fayette County, I was able to get a housing voucher, a case worker that will come to my apartment and meet with me once a month to set goals, and I also met with a doctor who explained my mental illness to me in a way that I could understand.
I'm not afraid to be on the streets again - my housing voucher pays all of my rent. I also was assisted to get my electric reduced to $10 a month (through the Percentage of Income Payment Plan - PIPP). I got a voucher to transfer the water in my name and the water bill is paid too. Since I don't have to stress any more about housing, it allows me to focus on my mental illness and keep that under control, and work on the goals my case worker and I have.
If these services weren't available any more, I would be back on the streets in my car, doing whatever I could to get a few dollars to eat. Without permanent housing I can't find a job, contol or manage my mental and physcial problems. There's nothing more terrifying than being homeless. I don't have any family at all. Everyday on the street is survival of the fittest and sometimes you lose. While on the streets, I've been raped, jumped, stolen from, and that's a small portion of what happens. Without this program, I would have to go back to that, and I don't know if I have another round in me. If this program ever closed, a lot of people would be back on the streets.
Community Action saved my life, took me off the streets and gave me a reason again. Every single person there, especially my case worker Stacy, were so wonderful and never made me feel like a burden or that I wasn't important. Through Community Action you really do matter and they all work to help.
To find a Community Action Agency in your area, visit www.oacaa.org.
Great job CAA of Fayette County. Reducing homelessness and ensuring that people have safe, decent and affordable housing can assist a person to meet their other needs and become part of the community again.
ReplyDeleteWithout your help this man may have never know that he had any kind of mental illness. I'm sure he also felt like a burden on society. I always hear the argument that "those" type of people make decisions to put them in the situation they are in. In some cases this is true, but not all. Everyone needs and deserves a second chance. Once someone gets going in the right direction it opens so many doors.
ReplyDeleteI’m sure you help people every day and this gentleman is just one of hundreds you will help this year. I also know there are hundreds you will not be able to help, and those are the ones that you think of most. I just want to congratulate you and your team for making a difference in your community.