It takes less than six seconds for most of us to write our name and, maybe, four or five seconds more to spell it out letter by letter. Francisca struggles with both. The letters shift on her and are confusing as she tries to get them in the right order. It’s the same with her birthdate. She’s just not certain she knows it well enough to keep it straight. There are other problems, too. Most recently, her confusion led her to trust people she thought were her friends. They weren’t.
Our team in Butler County met Francisca as she began to understand the roommates with whom she was living cared less about her and more about her income from Social Security. After she moved in with them, her money never quite ended up in her account. She wasn’t safe emotionally, physically or financially. But without her “friends,” she wouldn’t have a home, and as an older woman on her own, she had few options.
Last year, Catholic Charities placed 1,125 people in safe housing. We provided supportive housing for those leaving rehab with nowhere else to go, helped place older men at risk of homelessness into private residential housing and offered relief and respite to families impacted by Covid-19 as they figured out next steps to tackle debt and find stability for their children.
Although she is a U.S. citizen, English isn’t Francisca’s first language, and she’s had difficulty in the past completing forms for her ID and disability programs. Most of the original paperwork is gone, including information on her Social Security that would re-direct her income to her own pocket rather than her previous roommates.
Our team first worked to ensure she has a place to live securely out of harm’s way. Then, they invested themselves into finding clues to her past that would help support her financial needs. Previous housing applications helped solve the puzzle, and, today, with ongoing supportive case management from our team, Francisca has what she needs to live a stable life.