Pastor Judy Lee, RCWP, Shares Good News Story: A Couple's Journey from Homelessnes to a Home in Ft. Myers, Florida

left to right:
Robert, Pastor Judy, and Beverly
(seated)

Our people love to sing “This Little Light of Mine”, a simple song about letting your light shine. We sing it in our Tuesday prayer and Bible Study time before the meal, and we sing it on Sunday in church with the poor who have a hot meal and Sunday School afterward. But, it is not so easy to be the light when it means sharing your bread, and spending your very selves with the poor as Isaiah says. Often we are truly spent. It is, however, far more difficult to be homeless and to be poor and hungry. And so I begin with a story we have duplicated in some version at least thirty times this year.

It is a story of a couple who moved from homelessness, hunger and poverty to having a home and an income. Beverly and Robert Kolhoff are a married couple in their fifties who have been sporadically homeless for several years depending on Ron’s employment. They have asked me to share their story using their own names as they hope that the story may help someone they know or a stranger. Robert is a good worker who has been clean and sober for five years (since they were married) but his age (59) and the economy are powerful factors in his unemployment. Beverly, despite arthritis, held a supervisory level clerical job but she lost it as she suffers from major depression exacerbated by the tragic death of her son. When we first met them in Lion’s Park in 2008, they lived in the woods in a small tent that we gave them and her mental and physical health worsened as she tried to cope with the harsh conditions of living outside. Robert found a job in his home state of Ohio and we paid for their tickets. He worked there for several months and they lived modestly well but when the job was over they were homeless again.

They returned to Florida and sporadic employment. They shuttled from the woods to a motel as they could. Finally he worked enough to get unemployment insurance when the job stopped. They were then able to afford a small room in a very crowded and run down house. This was a step up and was minimally acceptable until unemployment benefits were cut in July of 2010.

Now they faced living outside again and Beverly fell apart. They turned to us in desperation. We gave them enough money to hold their room for a while and had Robert work for us on occasion to make ends barely meet. We helped Beverly to receive mental health treatment and apply for Social Security Disability Insurance. They also applied for public housing for the disabled over 55. All resources were now gone and Beverly, terrified of returning to the woods, had new profound mental health symptoms. She was voluntarily hospitalized. She was barely coping and Robert was distraught at seeing this happen and her difficult adjustment to the medications. He accompanied her weekly to see me. She began to feel better and wrote two poems and did art work reflecting her thankfulness to God for a return of hope. She is phobic of crowds but came one Tuesday to our worship to ask for prayer, give us her poetry and tell the group gathered that the ministry was saving her life.

This opened the door for several others to say the same thing in a moment of pure light and grace. We were so moved by this, especially as it was a major effort on her part. The core group was wonderful in reaching out to her and offering prayer and support. But, had there not been a few miracles they may have had to return to the woods as they waited for a reinstatement of unemployment insurance and what is usually a long wait for housing. Miracle number one was receiving news from the housing supervisor that they had several unexpected openings and Robert and Beverly were in the next cohort of those called for an interview. If they had all of their papers ready they could probably get in soon. Beverly then realized that she had lost her Birth Certificate. We immediately applied for it from Ohio and, miracle two, got it quickly. They were ready and within three weeks got their own little apartment with an awesome river view, their first real home. They had no furniture and, lo and behold, someone called up and offered a queen size bed and delivered it! The Lamb of God Thrift store then cut prices to a bare minimum and the apartment was thereby furnished.

Beverly was so happy that she returned to her crafting and took a bed sheet with a dolphin print on it and made curtains, lamp shades, covered shelves and a wall covering. She then fashioned jigsaw puzzles of sea and land creatures into three dimension masterpieces in an old fish tank, and their home was truly beautiful for our first visit and home blessing.

When we visited again with a Christmas dinner, they had already invited Mario, another formerly homeless man who lived by himself upstairs to share dinner with them, saying that they were now “family” through the Ministry. The final miracle happened about three weeks later. Beverly was approved for SSI and the first check arrived to her utter amazement. Now the family has a home and an income, but most of all, says Beverly, she has her mental health back as she lives with some basic security and diligently follows up on her treatment plan.

As we begin our fourth year of service as Good Shepherd Ministries of SWFL, Inc., and look back on 2010, there is so much to be thankful for that it is difficult to pull it all together so the light can shine. We are especially glad for the thirty plus volunteers (Roman Catholic and Lutheran-Episcopal and other backgrounds) that help us with cooking and regularly donating other items. An additional six people ( five are Roman Catholic from this diocese ) have become regular members of our Good Shepherd church, worshipping with us regularly and sharing the work of the church. We are glad for many stories like Beverly and Robert's, though not all have such wonderful “endings”.

It often takes years to get housing or benefits. Many cannot access health services without incomes, and many are sick and too afraid of physical or mental health services to use them, and alcohol and drug addiction and troubled relationships may cause setbacks and bumpy and painful rolls down hill. But with tiny steps each one can and does move forward toward the light. In 2010 we helped 30 people to move from homelessness into housing making our total 48 individuals, including two families with five children, housed. For all of these miracles we join our people in saying "Thanks be to God!"The attached are pictures of Robert and Beverly who are very happy to share their success story here.

Pastor Judy Lee is a Roman Catholic Women Priest
who ministers to and with the homeless in Ft. Myers, Florida
www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org