Homeless not Hopeless: Stephen's Story

Skylar has big blue eyes and soft blond hair. He giggles and makes gurgling sounds; he will be two in September. Skylar is also homeless—he lives in the Women’s and Family Shelter with his father Stephen, a single parent.

After moving from his hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming with his girlfriend, Stephen had a hard time finding a job to support his family. His relationship failed shortly after he moved to Billings; as a result, he found himself homeless as well as unemployed. Stephen has no family in Billings, and has had trouble finding a dependable support network. “I’m doing it by myself, but it’s making it a lot harder,” he says.

One of Stephen’s goals is to provide Skylar with a stable lifestyle—one that will be very different from Stephen’s own childhood. Growing up, “Mom couldn’t stay still,” he says. “We moved to be with the guy she was with at the time. I don’t want him to grow up that way—that’s why I’m trying to get myself into a more permanent situation.”

Stephen gained custody of Skylar in November of last year when his mother decided to move to the East Coast. “I told her he could stay with me. I didn’t want him going across the country in a bus like that,” he says. Stephen is convinced that his son is better off because he lives with Stephen, but the absence of Skylar’s mother has made life difficult on a number of levels, including financially. Although Skylar’s mother has been ordered by the court to pay child support, Stephen is still waiting for any payment from her.

Although Stephen is eager to get back on his feet, he faces special challenges as a single parent. For example, he would like to continue his education, but isn’t sure he can find affordable child care that would allow him to work and go to school. He has an Associates degree in Medical Science, and says he would like to go into pediatrics. “I have that degree there if I ever need it,” he says, “but it’s difficult to go to school with him and work. I don’t know if I can do it all at once.”

He has also struggled to find child care with flexible hours. Although he has worked late-night shifts in the past, he cannot find child care during the evenings, and is instead forced to give up work opportunities so he can stay at the shelter and care for his son.

On top of struggling to find a proper child care facility for Skylar, Stephen has also had to juggle his job search with attending mandatory classes offered by the shelter. There are “so many classes and stuff, I don’t have enough time to get out and look for a job,” he says. Before he was a single parent, he was able to work three days a week and still have time and money to take his son to his favorite places. “His first camping trip when he was 6 months old,” he remembers. “I made a little crib out of an air mattress and he curled up and slept by his dad.”

“We’re here [at the shelter] to get on our feet and be self-sufficient,” he says. “Hopefully after three months I’ll have money set back to get my own place.” Stephen remains optimistic about his current situation and the fact that “this is the first time in my life that this has happened to me. Skylar keeps me going. It’ll take me a little time, but I’ll get us out.” Until then, he will work toward finding an accommodating job and the resources he needs. He only asks to have his life back.

HERE'S MORE ABOUT STEPHEN AND SKYLAR IN THE BILLINGS GAZETTE (JAN. 31, 2010)
http://www.billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_c76d6fbc-0ee6-11df-8a2d-001cc4c002e0.html

Homeless not Hopeless: John's Story

Based on an interview by Lisa Harmon on March 13, 2007
by Julia Guarino

John has been a resident of the Montana Rescue Mission, Billings’ homeless shelter for single adult men, for many years, but if you met him, the word “homeless” would likely be far from your thoughts. John is clean-cut and well-spoken, his deep, even voice giving away his intelligence and education. John was born in Billings, and grew up the oldest boy in a large family. He speaks of his childhood, and the sense of community and security, with nostalgia. “The feeling of neighborliness and community now is so far removed from what it was like when I was growing up” he says with a touch of sadness. “It’s like two entirely different worlds.”

After he finished college, John moved to California for a while to work. He returned to his hometown after a few years, where, as he puts it, he “just ran out of money,” and found himself in the homeless shelter. He explains that life at the shelter offers little more than a place to sleep and three meals a day, with the only daytime activity offered being “The Brotherhood,” where residents who are interested can participate in basic Bible study. For some, he says, this leads to further study, and eventually a career in the Ministry. Most individuals, he explains, even those uninterested in Bible study, are interested in working. “In my experience, the majority of people I’m acquainted with through the Mission, them being generally homeless …do want to work,” he says. And many of them do. He estimates that more than half work full or part time, some holding a regular job and many working as day laborers or doing odd jobs around town.

A great barrier to this work force, however, is a lack of job skills; from unfamiliarity with newer technologies to functional illiteracy, which he says he sees frequently amongst his fellow residents. However, with a little job preparation, he is confident many of them could get back on their feet. “They can learn, and they will learn,” he says. “But it is a matter of finding someone who will take them on, give them a chance, and the person being hired… they’ve got to prove their ability, to prove their willingness to be loyal to the employer.” The Social Enterprise model, where businesses employ at-risk populations, is currently being practiced in town by employers such as MasterLube and the Downtown Business Improvement District. This certainly requires trust and faith on the part of both employer and employee, but as both these examples prove, it can be a tremendously successful business model.

When John speaks about what he sees in those he interacts with at the Mission, he highlights the importance of this kind of trust and faith for an individual who is experiencing homelessness. He explains, “A lot of the people we see at the Mission may have suffered a great loss of self-respect, many have lost that little bit of drive that would get them out of the rut.” When asked what a homeless person needs, he is quick to answer. “A homeless person needs self-confidence, a feeling of being respected… needs a great deal of encouraging,” and he enjoys being the one to give that encouragement. As for himself, “I don’t really have a firm, solid, shining objective at the moment. I’d like to be helpful to people who want to be helped.”

Update: John moved into housing in the summer of 2009 – Congratulations, John!

Homeless not Hopeless: Audrey's Story

by Jessica Mowry
Based on an interview on July 29, 2009


Audrey is a happily married mother of three. Although her children are the center of her world, she has worked full- and part-time, on and off over the last eight years, to make ends meet. She works hard, makes good choices, and considers her children her number one priority.

But Audrey lives in a shelter—the Montana Rescue Mission’s Women’s and Family Shelter in downtown Billings. Her first shelter stay was last December, as the country was gripped by recession; she and her family spent Christmas there. Audrey and her husband, Mike, worked hard to get back on their feet, and they did so—but only temporarily. They moved back to the shelter in mid-July. “I’ve been humbled in so many ways in this past year—you have no idea,” she tells me during the interview. “I don’t want my kids to be at the shelter; I don’t want to be poor.”

Audrey’s life has been difficult from the start: when she was just a year old, her father committed suicide. Although she has no memory of her father, she knows things changed after his death. “He was a bank manager; we had a pool, a house and our own rooms. To a lot of people that’s average stuff, but for me that seems like a whole different life,” she says. Audrey’s problems were compounded by her mother’s instability; for years, Audrey’s mother suffered from bipolar disorder and was suicidal. “I went through a lot with my mom, and there were times [growing up] when we would have to beg her, ‘No mom, please don’t kill yourself. We love you.’” Despite this, “I don’t blame her for anything, the stuff we went through. I still love her,” she says. “Even though things were hard, it made me who I am today. It made me stronger as a person, and I realize certain things I wouldn’t do with my kids.”

“Growing up in a big family, I knew what it took to raise a child,” Audrey says as she thinks back to the news of her first pregnancy. Then 18, Audrey had dropped out of high school and has been on her own for a year with her husband, Mike. Smiling, she launches into her “sweet love story”: from their first meeting at age thirteen, Audrey was smitten with the boy who would become her husband. As the years went by, their friendship turned to love, and Audrey gave birth to their first child, Dylan, just a few months shy of her nineteenth birthday. Baby Aiden arrived eighteen months later.

To support her happy, growing family, Audrey worked full-time as a waitress at a local restaurant. “I had so much money then,” she says wistfully. But her third and final pregnancy hit her hard—she struggled with severe depression, and during the last months of her pregnancy she experienced unremitting false labor pains. In spite of her struggles, Audrey was back at work just two weeks after giving birth to her daughter Alyssa, now three.

Shortly after Alyssa’s birth, Audrey left her restaurant job in search of better pay as a cocktail waitress. But the couple found themselves living paycheck to paycheck—it wasn’t easy struggling as a cocktail waitress “happy to get fifty cents” as a tip. “We would save money, but when you don’t make that much it’s hard to hold onto it for emergencies.” Then Mike landed a job with Sysco. The couple finally had some breathing room, and Audrey quit her job to be a stay-at-home mom. But in November of last year, Mike was let go, causing a downward spiral of unpaid bills and late fees. But the bad luck didn’t end there--two weeks before losing their home, their car broke down and the mechanic told them repairs would cost $2400. Unable to catch up, the family arrived, on foot, at the Women’s and Family Shelter in mid-December.

Determined to stay at the shelter only long enough to catch back up, Audrey worked two jobs while her husband continued searching for employment. It was not an easy time. “Keeping a job and having a job has been getting harder and harder. I love serving tables—I feel like you are in control of your money. If you’re attentive and friendly and know how to read a person that really affects how much money you make,” she says. Once Mike acquired a job at a local restaurant, the family was able to leave the shelter and move into their own trailer.

With another chance at a new start, the couple was very conscious of their budget and aware of what they had to do. But then Audrey’s boss ‘temporarily’ cut her hours and she was left waiting—without a job, without income. “I was starting to hurt at this point. I needed a job, I needed to be working.” The economy was failing and she was desperate to find work. Left in limbo by her previous employer, Audrey swallowed her pride and went back to the very restaurant she had left months before. “I’ve never begged for anything, but that day I begged for my job back,” she said. She was not granted her second chance, and in July the family moved back into the shelter.

Mike continues to work at the restaurant, and Audrey is still looking for work—submitting numerous applications across town, as well as considering pre-college courses to gain skills to qualify for better jobs. Despite their situation, the family is optimistic. “They’re happy as long as we’re all together,” she says of her three children, who are aware that their mom and dad are having a hard time, “I don’t tell them all of the details, but they know. Everything we do is for the kids.”

Misfortune and bad luck have put this family on the streets. No crimes have been committed, yet they suffer severely. Living in poverty is not an attractive lifestyle, but as this young family has found, sometimes there isn’t a choice. Audrey’s story is a real story of an uphill struggle. Despite the hardships, she remains optimistic about the future and what she can become—both for herself and her family. As she fully utilizes the resources offered at the Women’s and Family shelter, she makes plans for yet another try at a better life. The commitment she has for her husband and children is unmistakable. As she opened her heart to me, I was able to see how completely her story broke the stereotypical mold, and how the same misfortunes could cripple any number of people in the Billings community.

For more information about the Montana Rescue Mission’s Women’s and Family Shelter and how you can contribute, visit http://www.montanarescuemission.org/.


HERE'S MORE ABOUT AUDREY AND HER FAMILY IN THE BILLINGS GAZETTE (DEC. 24, 2009)
http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/80075007.html

Meet the MVP's!!

INTRODUCING....!!!

Joanna Culver - Portland, Oregon

Project Homeless Connect/Billings Area Resource Network
Mayor's Committee on Homelessness/City of Billings

I am from a small farming community in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and am excited to spend the next year in beautiful Billings, Montana. This May, I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience from Brown University, and after my year as an AmeriCorps VISTA, I hope to attend medical school.

I have had the opportunity to serve in a variety of capacities over the years: as a volunteer at the Rhode Island Free Clinic; as a volunteer with a crisis hotline in Providence; as an activities coordinator at a care center for people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease; and as an occasional volunteer at a shelter and soup kitchen in Portland, Oregon. These experiences have led me to the conclusion that, for me, a meaningful and purpose-driven life must by definition be a service-driven life. To that end, I look forward to working with the Billings Area Resource Network and the Mayor’s Committee on Homelessness, and serving as the event coordinator for Project Homeless Connect 2010.

**to contact Joanna email her at vista3@ci.billings.mt.us or call (406) 657-8289**

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Katie Woloszyk

- Madison, Wisconsin
Family Support Network

I grew up in a suburb of Madison, Wisconsin. This past spring I received my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Minnesota State University Mankato. Volunteering has always been a priority as well as a favorite past time in my life. Throughout my years of volunteering, the most recent experience touched my heart. I volunteered at a local Salvation Army summer day camp for at-risk youth. I spent summer afternoons doing crafts, playing board games, and going to the local pool. I also lead team building and leadership activities for the kids to participate in. I felt it was important for them to work together and develop relationships within the camp that they never interacted with. The time I spent with these kids will never be replaced. I enjoyed learning who each and every one of the kids were and who they wanted to become. I loved coming into camp every day to kids enthusiastically waiting to see me. I believe that I not only made a difference in their lives, but the kids have made a HUGE impact on my life. I was able to gain a lot of trust from the children and as time went on throughout the summer, I was giving advice for relationship issues, college uncertainties, family problems, and personal issues that no child should ever have to face in their lifetime.

I am so grateful for all the opportunities I have encountered over my years of volunteering. In many ways, I believe my volunteering experiences have shaped who I have become as a person. I have become more open-minded, ambitious, and caring for those people in community. My passion for lending an open hand led me directly to the AmeriCorps VISTA program. I fell in love with Family Support Network’s mission statement. FSN recognizes that children are the foundation of the future and that the family as a basic unit of society is the natural environment for the growth and development of all its members. The agency provides intervention, support and assistance to children diagnosed with mental illness, as well as families and their children at risk for abuse or neglect. FSN recognizes the importance of parents in the lives of their children and seeks to help them access appropriate support and education in appropriate, nurturing parenting techniques. My assignment for the next year at FSN will be volunteer recruitment, sustainability, creating public awareness, and fund raising, fundraising, FUND RAISING!! I feel truly honored to be spending my time in Billings, MT and looking forward to the many challenges that await me.

**to contact Katie email her at katie.woloszyk@gmail.com**

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Jessica Mowry - Ligonier, PA
Illuminate Poverty/Mayor's Committee on Homelessness/City of Billings

I am originally from a small town outside of Pittsburgh, PA called Ligonier, which was built surrounding Fort Ligonier during the French and Indian war in 1758. I moved away from home to attend a small private Baptist university in Wingate, NC, east of Charlotte, called Wingate University. There I received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. Upon graduating, I had the whole world at my fingertips, but with the humbling experiences I engaged in during my years in college, and my time spent living abroad, I wanted to continue my drive for service. I wanted to use my skills not to make money for some fortune 500 business, but to help people that don’t get attention and help they deserve. I have no desire to help the rich get richer.

Waiting for a direction, I applied to graduate school at Florida International University for their Integrated Marketing and Public Relations program. With no confidence in receiving acceptance, I applied for the AmeriCorps VISTA program, also with little confidence. I continued working my shiftwork day-job when summer arrived and I continued waiting. I was chosen for an interview with three AmeriCorps VISTA positions, in Alaska, in Billings and Louisiana. Even before my interview for MVP I was absolutely in love with the position. It became my number one priority, even after getting accepted to the FIU graduate program. I cannot tell people enough how much this has shown me what I am supposed to do with my life. I am so privileged, and although I have struggled blood, sweat and tears to get where I am today I have the understanding and passion to share with the people I am serving here in Billings.

My choice to join AmeriCorps VISTA was driven by my desire to continue doing service work, to “fight poverty with passion” as well as being able to use my privileges to help others. My VISTA assignment description is targeted to raise awareness of homelessness and the poverty issues in the City of Billings. I am dedicated to speaking for those that can’t get their voice heard. I want to tell the stories that break the mold of normal stereotypes, and I want to change the perception of the homeless and impoverished communities. In a nutshell, I want to save the world! And I plan on doing this by revealing all the pieces of the puzzle in order to bring understanding, along with compassion, to doorsteps and beyond.

**to contact Jessica email her at vista2@ci.billings.mt.us or call (406) 247-8645**

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Clare Kain - Houston, Texas

Second Chance Homes

Greetings everyone, my name is Clare Helena Kain. I am one of the seven new AmeriCorps MVPs serving in Billings, MT. I am from northwest Houston, TX; where the humidity is so intense, it will keep you barricaded inside for days. Since my transition to Billings, I’ve been soaking up a lot more vitamin D and enjoying every moment of it.

In the summer of 2007, I graduated from the University of Texas in Austin with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Arts. I plan to pursue a career in Art Therapy after I complete my year-long stint as a Vista. Originally, I had been interested in joining the Peace Corps, but eventually realized that the AmeriCorps program would be a better fit. When scanning through the AmeriCorps website only a few months ago, I stumbled across the Second Chance Home’s (SCH) Sustainability Plan listing. Soon after looking into the program further, I knew it would be effortless for me to become fully committed to such an organization. Second Chance Homes is a non-profit establishment that helps families recovering from drug addiction gain access to housing and provides a safe and sober environment for parents and children to be reunited. I hope I am able to provide Second Chance Homes with an effective and comprehensive Sustainability Plan by July 0f 2010. Keep your fingers crossed and be on the lookout for me!

**to contact Clare email her at clarek@sch-mt.org **
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Michael Dummeyer - Long Island, New York
Social Enterprise "Elevate the Workplace"/ Mayor's Committee on Homelessness/City of Billings

Hi, my name is Mike. I come from a place called Long Island, New York (I’ve been to the New York City many times, but no, I did not grow up there). As a Sociology student at SUNY Purchase, my senior project focused on raising awareness and funds for subaltern groups (people who are under most others radar). Having worked at a Princess Cruise’s Alaska Lodge one summer, I met tons of people who said the only place they could compare its beauty to was Montana, so why wouldn’t I want to be here? After graduation, I planned on a hiking/camping trip that was to dwarf any I tried before. Instead, I filled out an application to AmeriCorps and made a resume on Monster.com. My first interview was for my current position in Billings titled “Social Enterprise and Elevate the Workplace.” I was told I’d have to wait to hear their decision. The only other interview I scheduled after that was with a finance company. I arrived five minutes early for the interview, and was five minutes too late. The group interview had already begun and I told the receptionist I’d call back to reschedule. I never did.

I am here to find businesses that have a purpose beyond their shareholders profit. I am here to promote others to do the same; to take a stake in the goals of individuals that work for them and get everyone that does excited about elevating the water so all the boats can rise. I will raise the water, even if its means the only contribution I can give is my sweat. I will brood over the problem. I will, with my will, find a way to help others find their way.

**to contact Mike email him at vista1@ci.billings.mt.us or call (406) 247-8654**

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Bill Dickman - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Salvation Army

My name is Bill Dickman and I'll be spending the next year of my life working as a Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA) partnering with the Salvation Army. I was born and raised in a tiny little town outside of Milwaukee and graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. During my time there I often encountered people who hadn't a place to call home, and watching crowds of happy students pass them by everyday. I would do what I could for them, be it give them a little money or buy them a cup of coffee and a sandwich. I think the most important thing I gave to them was a little company. Whatever their problems were, and most of them had issues the average person could not relate to in any way, I always saw, when they opened up, a person deep within so beautiful that it pained me very much that they should be in such a condition. But what could I really do for them? I was busy with school and work and "barely getting by" myself.

After I graduated I spent seven weeks volunteering at a school in Columbia S.A. Witnessing the impoverished conditions of some of the people there was very alarming. It made me think; ‘There are people in the United States, the most wealthy and prosperous nation in the world, living in the same conditions.’ It seemed insane. When I came back I took a menial job doing customer service for AT&T. A friend of mine told me she was applying for a volunteer job with AmeriCorps. I checked it out on-line and thought; "This is my chance." I did a search for volunteer positions helping the homeless. Of all places, what was happening in Billings really caught my heart, that is, an effort to end homelessness.

What I am doing now is not buying people a cup of coffee and a sandwich, but setting up sustainable structures for volunteers to connect with the homeless and provide them with educational, emotional, and psychological support. It's my belief that the lack of this support was a major contributor to the current condition of these homeless and impoverished individuals. By providing these services, the problem of homelessness can be fought on the highest level. Every human has intrinsic dignity and value and deserves to live in according conditions. I would like to see homelessness ended all through the world. Let's start in Billings!

**to contact Bill email him at Bill.Dickman@usw.salvationarmy.org **

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Liz Jung - Denver, Colorado

United Way of Yellowstone County

Liz is originally from Denver, Colorado. She graduated from Colorado College in 2008 where she studied Sociology with an emphasis on Race Relations. In College she traveled abroad to Seoul, South Korea; and San Jose, Costa Rica to learn about each country’s culture and language. She also lived in Chicago for a semester to take part in an Urban Studies program that focused on social justice. On campus, she co-chaired a student organization, BreakOut, that offered community service trips during school break for the college community. After graduating, Liz moved to St. Louis to participate in the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs. The Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs is a full-time, nine month, graduate-level experiential leadership training program that prepares diverse, intelligent and committed individuals for effective and ethical leadership in the public affairs arena.

After the Fellows Program ended, Liz joined Americorp VISTA to return to the fields of service and social justice. She is now serving United Way of Yellowstone working on financial literacy for the Billings community.

**to contact Liz email her at liz.jung@unitedwayyellowstone.org **

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Julia Guarino - Weston, Connecticut

Downtown Billings Alliance

I arrived for the first time in Billings Montana one evening last January, with no permanent residence and not knowing exactly what to expect of the coming year. As any VISTA can tell you, Pre-Service Orientation is overwhelming, and you’re head is still spinning when you arrive in your new home town only hours after it ends. Optimistic, however, I began my VISTA journey (step 1: find housing!).

Now more than halfway through my service, I am both grateful for the opportunity to experience all that I have in this year (including the perspective temporary homelessness and enrollment in the SNAP program bring), and I look forward to the many things I will learn in the coming months. Working with the Mayor’s Committee on Homelessness on further developing the 10-Year Plan, through which I have gained great knowledge about the diverse nature of homelessness and national best practices in the attempt to end homelessness , I know that by the end of my year of service I will feel that I have both contributed to the growth of the Billings community, and have the knowledge I need to continue to make an impact back home, or wherever I land next.

I have also had the opportunity to work with the Downtown Billings Alliance on their Spare Change for Real Change campaign. Spare Change for Real Change is an educational and fundraising campaign designed to encourage the public to give in productive, rather than destructive ways. Currently, change collection boxes are placed on the counters of local businesses, where customers are encouraged to give change where it will go directly to service providers, rather than to panhandlers, who too often make use of it to feed an addiction. I have been given the task of expanding the program, have developed the new website, and plan to unveil a set of retired parking meters recycled into donation meters in the coming months.

When I graduated from Bard College in 2007, infused with optimistic idealism, I was determined to make a difference in my work. I began by teaching English as a Second Language to adults in Washington DC, but within the year I began to realize that though the small impact I made on the lives of my students could be both rewarding and meaningful, I craved something larger. When I came across the VISTA program, where I would have the chance to build the capacity of an existing non-profit, make greater use of my skills, and see a new part of the country, I knew it was for me. I am grateful for what I have experienced thus far, and I can’t wait to see what the last few months of my service will bring!

**Contact Julia by email: vista@downtownbillings.com, or at the Downtown Billings Alliance, 2817 2nd Ave North, 406.294.5060 x101**