Angela was 20 years old when she began using drugs. They quickly became a raging addiction.  She began spending all of her money on drugs, even the funds that she had set aside for rent. 

As her disease progressed, she was evicted from her apartment.  She began living wherever she could:  in hallways; in cars; in a cardboard box the size of a refrigerator; and finally near a welding shop next to City Hall. Angela remained homeless for almost 8 years, moving in and out of shelters.

“It was real bad.  I’ve been through hell and back.” Angela recalls, “The worst thing was sleeping outside at night and hoping that nobody would harm you. I had to sleep with one eye open and one eye shut.”

She was referred to GCNSSC by a hospital in Brooklyn.  When she came to Mainchance, she decided that she didn’t want to leave.  She saw the center as her home, and made a point of getting to know all the staff members.  Not one to sit on the sidelines, she participated in the Pathways to Employment program as an intern for the soup kitchen. 

But it took some persuading to get Angela to begin the search for housing. In fact, it wasn’t until her third housing interview that she began to seriously consider leaving GCNSSC. “They had to push me to get out.”

At first, she found it to live on her own.  “I wanted to come back to GCN in the beginning, but the answer I got was no.”  Her difficulties were exacerbated by the fact that Angela’s daughter is also homeless - a situation that Angela is reluctant to talk about.

However, Angela says that now she loves having her own bathroom and cooking in her own kitchen. “I do what I have to do now. I have to live by the rules at my apartment, and I have to pay the rent.” Angela continues to keep in touch with GCNSSC outreach workers.  She often comes by the Center to participate in housing workshops, sharing her experience with current clients.

*Names have been changed to maintain client anonymity.