Feeling Whole Again
October 1, 2024
For current shelter guest Walter, success was once running his own company, making a good living and getting recognition for his work. These days success for him is about finding strength, resilience and a new path in life.
Walter was a thriving project manager and room designer for high-end interior home projects until alcohol and mental health issues caused him to lose just about everything. He was living out of his car for months. “The coldest nights were brutal. I couldn’t keep my car running, so I would try to cover myself with towels to keep warm.” Finding himself in the hospital after a police officer discovered him almost incoherent, he was able to enter our Warming Center after his release, in the beginning of 2024.
Realizing he had hit rock bottom, Walter started sobering up and was grateful for the offerings of the Warming Center, including a warm bed at night, a hot meal and a place to shower. He moved into our shelter program shortly after, and took hold of this opportunity for a second chance. With the help of our case management staff, he created a “goal plan” that he has been sticking to.
They’ve helped him connect with other agencies like the Mental Health Association, who helped him obtain a laptop so he could start working on his resume and networking for future employment. Connections to other benefits have helped him focus on his health, where a diagnosis of colon cancer was recently determined. The cancer was successfully removed, but Walter was grateful to have these supports – the Hand Up we offer – to guide him through the processes needed to stick to his “goal plan”: sobriety, health (both mental and physical), employment, housing. Walter’s next step is to find permanent housing by the new year – he is making sure his other goals are taken care of first so he can feel secure and settled once he’s living independently again.
Walter cannot express enough how much the support from staff and being at the shelter has affected him. “Everyone here is so helpful, is always willing to answer any question you have, helps you with anything you need. I didn’t feel like I was whole for a long time. And now I’m finally starting to feel whole again.”