Success Stories

"Life can be very busy for single parents like myself. We have gone from my daughter and myself being separated to us being able to live as a well adjusted family and having permanent housing that we can afford."

I want to take a couple minutes to let you know what that means to me. My daughter and I have always been close until the time that we were separated because of relational difficulties between myself and her mother (who has greatly struggled with mental illness and had up days and seasons as well as down.) My daughter and I spent every day together. Unfortunately for me, because of circumstances, not the least having been a stay at home dad for several years, I found myself with no employment history, no rental history, no vehicle, and the only available place for me to live was the Good News Rescue Mission. In those circumstances it was very difficult to have hope of a good outcome for our family. My daughter also had a very hard time with the separation. Although she lived with people that seemed to treat her kindly, she suffered from a fair amount of anxiety and probably some trauma over the separation. I was able to visit her frequently during that time and for the most part she seemed happy when I saw her, I could tell some things were weighing heavily on her heart and mind.

Through it all I remembered making a promise to God on the day she was born that I would raise her in the best way that I could- to honor God and go the way she should. I was also very heartbroken at times, because I love her dearly and I also believe that while a person's kids don't really owe them anything, as a parent, I knew that I owe her the opportunity to feel wanted, belonging, and loved in a caring family. I did some work on myself learning to create that kind of home where she could grow to have that identity, sense of stability and belonging which she deserves as a child. I still had many economic barriers however, at the time I worked very part time at a call center in Redding. I called that the job I could handle at the time. I didn't feel like I had very many marketable skills and still had many time commitments to classes and visits.

And then I received my answer: FaithWorks accepted me into their program after two years... I was over the moon with happiness to get into the program. We had weekly case management meetings where we had to set some realistic goals and attempt to meet them during the week, weekly housing inspections, and weekly classes on parent related topics, ranging from parenting, biblical encouragement and prayer, and practical things like budgeting and meal planning. I also received a lot of assistance through the case management that I might not have known how to access myself- such as applying for assistance with Christmas gifts, back to school clothes as well as connection with a children's advocate that could help my daughter work through her emotional issues as they came up (Kathy is great- my daughter always smiles when I pick her up from school and tell her were going to see Kathy.) Through the program were even able to get me connected with some much needed counseling for myself. In the end Crystal was able to get me a referral for HUD to reduce my housing costs, as well as to advocate for me on a limited basis with some of the places that I applied for housing. Also, and equally important, Crystal was able to encourage me every week to be persistent with submitting and following up on the housing applications I had already turned in. I can say also that the program encouraged me to look a little more deeply into my goals for employment. I am pleased to say that while in the beginning I did mostly unskilled temporary labor jobs I was able to find stable employment that meets my scheduling needs and that I am capable of doing.

None of these things would have been very likely to happen without the stability which came from being able to simply have a safe place to stay. And that's really what I wanted you to know. As great as the services provided by Faithworks were, Redding can be a very difficult city to find yourself in need of housing. In general the cost of living is high, the rents are high, and for a person like myself that has done mostly service related work it is difficult if not impossible to balance the need to make money with the responsibilities that come from being a single parent.

Gregory although always full of colorful stories from his past was able to pinpoint the moment, he became homeless and could replay exactly what happened. He was renting an apartment in Anderson and receiving subsidies from Shasta County. For an unknown reason the subsidy stopped coming in. Without that support, former Marine, Gregory was unable to maintain his housing. He had been homeless before and felt accustomed to the streets. Although facing the challenges of being unsheltered, he somehow felt free from life’s burdens and only concerned himself with survival. He shared during an interview that the hardest part of being homeless was not having a safe place to rest and wondering if even one person actually cared about you. During this stint on the streets Gregory developed a very large growth on the end of his nose. It was so large that it began blocking his vision. One day the homeless camp where he was residing was canvased by our local street medicine team. The lead doctor approached Gregory under the bush where he camped and asked if he needed help. He recalled feeling something different about this doctor and felt as though he genuinely cared about his wellbeing. Gregory has some significant trauma from his childhood after facing some serious medical complications. As a young boy he recalls being tortured by medical professionals and referred to all doctors as “Dr. Frankenstein.” Despite his past, he accepted the help from the doctor. He knew he was getting older, and the streets were wearing him down.

After that divine appointment Gregory was added to Coordinated Entry, began medical treatment and was placed in a medical respite program. He then received a diagnosis, the mass on his nose was cancer. Moving through the various local avenues, he was placed in a motel paid for by another entity who participates in Coordinated Entry. Soon, he was matched up with our 24- month House of Cornelius Transitional Housing for homeless Veterans and became part of the FaithWorks family. The timing was great, we were able to get him settled into an individual apartment where he was comfortable while entering the most aggressive part of his cancer treatment. He had multiple medical appointments, and the intense treatment left his face burning and in pain, his eyes watering and his entire body exhausted. Despite the hardships, he was grateful to be housed and his attitude about life was contagious. He was remarkably chipper as the mass on his nose turned into a gaping hole as the treatment began destroying the mass. Gregory often spoke of God and shared how blessed he was to be alive.

Simultaneously, Gregory worked with his case manager at the House of Cornelius to become more stable. He received assistance with budgeting, obtaining food, transportation, important documents and maintained all mental health and medical appointments while growing his spiritual foundation. Volunteers from FaithWorks developed a soft spot for the Veteran and often delivered home cooked meals, baked goods, and other necessities. He was able to reconnect with and begin restoring his relationships with his children. He began receiving updates on how they were doing and even pictures of his grandchildren. The radiation treatment ended, doctors were confident the cancer was removed, and Gregory began to heal.

During his 6 months in transitional housing, he was able to bond with the other Veterans at the program and arguably had the best Christmas in at least 20 years (pictured). One component of our programming is providing the opportunity to create memories and traditions by organizing holiday celebrations and honoring our Veterans whenever possible. Soon enough Gregory was matched again through Coordinated Entry but this time, he was matched to permanent housing. Joyful for the opportunity but sad to leave our program, we assisted him in packing, cleaning and eventually moving. Volunteers and staff (pictured) showed up on moving day and helped make the impossible possible. Gregory landed at his new home, a supportive, income based, housing program for seniors, close to public transportation with a variety of potential friends. We often check in on this hero and have helped him navigate new challenges. When asked about how he felt about our program, he said with big tears in his eyes “I couldn’t be more grateful for what you’ve done for me. I never would have imagined this happening.” When asked about his hopes and dreams for the future Gregory said he is seeking the Lord and hopes to continue healing. He also can’t wait to invite his children and grandchildren over so he can finally introduce himself as "Papa Gregory"