Jenny Is No Longer Homeless! She's Movin’ On Up!

Last week I picked Jenny up from the homeless shelter at Mill Street in San Rafael and brought her to her new home in Novato. The solution to Jenny’s homeless debacle would not have been possible without the care and service of numerous people and organizations. Jenny has a spot for the next two years with Movin’ On Up (http://www.movinonup.org/), a program for emancipated foster kids that allows them to pursue an education while working part time. The kids pay nothing for their room and board, as Movin’ On Up depends on grants, subsidies and the generosity of our community.

On the subject of generosity I hooked Jenny up with Wednesday’s Gift (http://www.wednesdaysgift.org/), a non-profit organization that has for years supported the homeless in San Francisco and is actively helping the homeless in Marin. Recently they donated a number of bikes to the Downtown Streets Team (http://streetsteam.org/) in San Rafael and furniture this week to one of the Streets Team members who they recently scored a place. In Jenny’s case they are helping her with clothing and electronics, things which I take for granted but can be challenging to obtain and maintain for the homeless. Jenny is homeless no longer and has the opportunity through the Movin’ On Up program to transition into independence. Subsisting at the Mill Street shelter it was almost impossible for Jenny to move forward, and she often considered bailing.

None of this would have been possible without Abassadors of Hope and Opportunity (http://www.ahoproject.org) which is actively assisting Jenny. Their founder Zara Babitzke sent out an email for help Saint Luke Church in San Rafael (http://www.stlukepresorg). Kathleen Murphy who happens to be both a Bradley Real Estate Realtor and is on the Saint Luke board of Deacons forwarded the email to me. Kathleen helps the homeless through the church and their involvement in the REST program[1]. She knew that there have been times I have been able to help the homeless and thought I might be able to assist with Jenny. We were in the right place at the right time and found out about Movin’ On Up which had a spot open.

Earlier this year I helped my friend Steve transition indoors[2]. For the past few months Steve has been working with the Downtown Streets Team and I have had several occasions to hire him for real estate sales related odd jobs. Like Jenny, Steve had been staying at the Mill Street shelter and grew up in foster homes. Steve was able to survive because of the kitchen at Saint Vincent’s (http://www.vinnies.org/) on B Street and the services he received through both Saint Vincent’s and the Ritter Center (http://www.rittercenter.org/). Steve is a long time Marin resident whose life had become derailed because of unemployment and the recession but he’s now back on track.

Out there still among our homeless population is Susan, a seventy year old woman afflicted with cancer. I wrote about Susan earlier this year[3] and she is adamant about not sleeping at Mill Street. She’d rather seek shelter in the cars of friends. Sometimes she doesn’t sleep. I wish I had an answer for Susan’s homeless debacle. At one time she had Section 8 housing but she lost it and is now trying to get it back. It could be years before she gets it again and even with a Section 8 voucher there’s no guarantee she’ll be able to find housing. There is a chronic lack of affordable housing in Marin County, and landlords accepting Section 8 housing are even harder to come by.

I am very fortunate to have helped Jenny and Steve transition out of homelessness this year. I am grateful that we have people and organizations in Marin County which help the homeless. Because of them there is hope, and we are finding ways to end homelessness.

[1] https://www.marinhhs.org/sites/default/files/files/servicepages/2013_12/brochure_rest.pdf

[2] http://sanrafael.patch.com/groups/andy-falks-blog/p/steve-needs-a-job

[3] http://sanrafael.patch.com/groups/making-sense-of-a-crazy-real-estate-market/p/a-cry-for-help--susans-story