Success Stories
Roxanne - Rebuild community support network
Roxanne is a 67 year old Vietnam-era veteran who became homeless for the first time in 2018 after leaving an unstable housing situation. While homeless, she was connected to the Veteran’s Administration (VA) and was able to utilize temporary and transitional VA housing programs until she was provided a permanent housing voucher through the HUD VASH program and moved into AHI’s Encore on Northern in late 2020. Having met her basic need for safe, stable housing, Roxanne began to work with her AHI case manager to find resources to address the PTSD, anxiety, and depression she had been battling for years. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened these conditions, with Roxanne isolated without a support system. Her AHI case manager helped Roxanne advocate for herself with the VA to get connected to the health and mental health supports she needed, and Roxanne began to come out of her shell and attend the community events offered at Encore on Northern, including working in the garden with her neighbors.
With her new support network in place, Roxanne felt ready to work with her AHI case manager on applying for the additional income benefits she was eligible for, which have allowed her to start making weekly trips to the store. With the support of her AHI case manager, Roxanne has been able to stabilize in housing, re-connect and re-build her community support network, and move toward self-sufficiency. |
With the support of her AHI case manager, Roxanne has been able to stabilize in housing, re-connect and re-build her community support network, and move toward self-sufficiency. |
Chuck - On his way to recovery from his long period of homelessness
Chuck is a 52 year old who was homeless for over a decade when he was contacted by an outreach team, living at the bottom of a river bed in the east valley. The outreach team was able to place him into a temporary motel shelter program and connect him with a housing voucher, which he used to move into AHI’s Collins Court property. There, his AHI case manager provided him a move in box with cleaning and hygiene supplies and small household items and a TV, and furnishings and other household items from a local nonprofit thrift store, helping Chuck make his new apartment feel like a home. Chuck was particularly grateful when his case manager helped him set up cable for his TV, something he had missed after so many years on the streets. This also turned out to be key to building trust and rapport with Chuck, who had been let down by family, friends, and other service providers throughout his life.
With all his home essentials taken care of, Chuck started working with his case manager on his health and wellness. Spending so long on the streets, Chuck had turned to drugs and alcohol to cope. His case manager supported him through contacting and working with behavioral health and substance use counselors to start his journey to get clean and sober. His case manager also helped him get connected to nutritious food supplies and find a primary care physician near Collins Court, to start addressing some medical conditions that had gone unaddressed while Chuck was living in the river bed. Chuck has been at Collins Court less than a year and is already well on his way to recovery from his long period of homelessness, and becoming part of his new community with the support of his AHI case manager. |
Chuck has been at Collins Court less than a year and is already well on his way to recovery from his long period of homelessness, and becoming part of his new community with the support of his AHI case manager. |