Nobody wants to go through a crisis alone.
Dégagé Ministries provides responsive programs to meet needs of individuals enduring a crisis such as homeless. Whether that be overnight shelter for women, low-cost and free meals, referrals, or simply offering a shoulder to cry on and carry the burden, Dégagé Ministries is open seven days a week to provide help and hope.
Opened in 1967, Dégagé Ministries serves 400- 500 individuals daily. This is an article about a woman that recently utilized the services at Dégagé Ministries.
The last four months have been a long and emotional journey for Ms. Jones. When she became homeless in January, she found herself up against many barriers between her and permanent housing. She did not have any identification, and was so preoccupied with meeting her daily needs that she did not even know where to start her affordable housing search.
The first time I met with her at the beginning of the year, Ms. Jones looked me in the eye and said, “Girl, I’m too old for all this.” Ms. Jones’ first step was to attain State Identification, which required her to request both her birth certificate and marriage license to show the evidence of her name change. Starting out with very limited documents to identify her, the process of attaining these vital records was difficult and frustrating. After patient persistence and a few long-distance phone calls, Ms. Jones finally received both records in the mail. Holding them in her hands, tears of joy streamed down her face, “Praise the Lord and give me a hug,” she said, “Because now I’m going to get an apartment.” A partnership between Dégagé and Community Rebuilders enabled Ms. Jones to meet with a Community Rebuilders staff member at Dégagé to talk about funding available for patrons that are currently homeless, and looking for permanent, stable housing.
Now that Ms. Jones had the ability to get an ID, she could begin her search for housing. After going through the application process, Ms. Jones received funding to help cover the first 3-6 months of rent, and staff and volunteers in the Supportive Service Desk helped her look for available apartments that would meet her needs.
Today, Ms. Jones came into my office holding the lease to her new apartment “Welcome Home!” displayed across the front. She held it with so much joy and pride, as she talked about all of the things she could do now that she had her own place. She reflected on the simple things that she had missed, like sleeping in, and sitting in silence. As she was reflecting on God’s faithfulness to her, she told me that she wanted to be an inspiration to other women in the future. “Sometimes you have to make it through the storm, but if you trust in the Lord, the weather will always change.”
Anna Gretz is Supportive Services Coordinator at Dégagé Ministries.
Published in
Public Service
