SSHH met Anne at the Salvation Army Shelter in 2019. Anne was wrongly discharged from the hospital after a medical emergency and became homeless.

For the first time in her life, she was unable to meet her basic needs. Anne had no food, no job, no place to live, and little hope she would get back to her life that once was. This was new territory for her. For 40+ years Anne raised a family, held full-time employment, paid rent on time, and even volunteered in her community of Folsom, where she was a 2nd generation resident. 

Anne worked with an SSHH housing counselor, as part of the Sacramento County funded Pathways program. The purpose of the funding is to rapidly mobilize resources to help newly unhoused people in Sacramento achieve permanent housing. Luckily, this was exactly what happened with Anne.

After 4 months of assessing rental applications, visiting apartments, and weighing her options, Anne secured a rental apartment near the Folsom City Zoo. Down the street from the location she lived a decade ago. 

“The biggest hurdle for me was finding a place that would accept my housing choice voucher.” 

Anne thanks SSHH’s housing counselor Nancy for making the difference. “Nancy encouraged me to keep a positive attitude. She gave me clear instructions on how to apply for housing within my needs and limitations and ended up being a major game changer.” 

With a new place to live and her life back on track, Anne is looking forward to volunteering in her community. She’s looking at part time and volunteer positions at the Folsom City Zoo.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 went into effect on March 11th, 2021. It provided 1.9 trillion dollars in funding to curb the impact of COVID-19 and the associated economic recession. 5 billion went to 70,000 Emergency Housing Vouchers nationwide. 494 of which came to Sacramento and were distributed between nonprofit partners like Sacramento Self-Help Housing. Luckily, the emergency vouchers went to support well-qualified program participants of SSHH’s Permanent Supportive Housing Program (PSH). Participants like Alice. 

Alice was homeless for 3 years before moving into PSH. As a general model, Permanent Supportive Housing is an intervention that combines affordable housing assistance with voluntary support services to address the needs of the chronically unhoused. In Sacramento, SSHH’s PSH program is funded through The Department of Housing and Urban Development and is only one of the many resources available to the unhoused.

“Alice is the best resident I’ve ever had. She helped me around the house and was never a problem.” Says PSH House Leader Sapphire. Sapphire’s incredible story can be read here!

When SSHH got wind of the EHV’s given to PSH, Alice was an obvious choice to move on to independent living. Alice and her partner Carlos have lived in SSHH’s program for almost a year. She is recovering from a stroke and other health-related issues which, ultimately, caused her homelessness. When she found out about the voucher, Alice immediately started looking for housing. When her case manager arrived for their weekly meeting, Alice presented a list of potential apartments within her qualifications and price range. “I’m ready to have my own place!”  

Mind you, PSH case managers look to curb the impact of, oftentimes, years of homelessness and physical and mental health deterioration from living on the street. The presenting of the list and the excitement to move into her own place, was a sign of good things to come - that Alice was ready to move out of PSH.  

Alice is set to move into her own apartment at the end of October. Though nervous to live on her own, she’s ready to take the next step.

A few years ago, Sapphire and her daughter made a pact to complete high school together. “We were going to be a mother-daughter graduation team.” Unfortunately, in 2016, Sapphire’s daughter passed away from breast cancer. This left her in a difficult spot. She became homeless and would remain so until 2018.

In 2018 she moved into the Mather community campus homeless shelter. With a safe place to sleep, Sapphire felt the fire to continue her education. She took full advantage of the tech classes provided by Mather and attended an adult school in Rancho Cordova.

In July of 2019, Sapphire moved out of Mather and into permanent housing as a house leader for SSHH. Houseleader’s are integral parts of our housing programs. They are responsible for observing and reporting the day-to-day operations and interaction of our program participants. Of course, Sapphire excelled. “Sapphire is doing a great job,” her boss Justin gleams.

In 2019 Sapphire started attending school at Highlands Community Charter Tech School (HCC). She took business and computer classes. On January 31st, 2021, Sapphire graduated with a high school diploma as the oldest woman in her classes. And was she proud of it!

As you can imagine, Sapphire has big plans. Now that she’s graduated, she’s taking advantage of the HCC’s state job placement program. She hopes to find a job where she can give back, do data entry, and work with battered women.

“Take advantage of every helpful opportunity because you never know where it'll lead you. SSHH is a place to gather yourself. If you stay focused, you’ll come out the other side.” Says Sapphire. This couldn't be more accurate. Sapphire took full advantage of our program and we are proud to see her grow because of it.

Despite having cancer 3 times, in 2006, 2009, and 2012, losing her daughter to breast cancer in 2016, and losing many of her close relatives to cancer, Sapphire had the resilience to focus on bettering herself. She asked that everyone reading this make an effort to get checked for cancer.

“One of the greatest challenges was the sense of being cast aside. Being a second-class citizen. Not being good enough. Being that homeless girl. If you had a backpack and bike you were immediately classified as homeless and were treated as such by everyone.” 

Sarah became homeless and struggled to escape the cycle because "our community's public protections and social programs failed." Luckily, her journey ends in housing and working within the same system that let her down, to be a beacon for good to those on the street.

10 years ago, over the course of 120 hours, Sarah’s mother died and their landlord chose to sell the property. Sarah had to bury her mother and move out of her long-time home in less than a week. Sarah was her mother’s IHSS (In-Home Support Services) worker, so, when she passed, Sarah had to collect unemployment. Unfortunately, unemployment does not cover the cost of rent, a security deposit, and other move-in expenses. Her only option was to move in with a relative, who promptly dropped her off at a homeless shelter on their way to Costco.  

After a few months of couch surfing and living on the street, Sarah inherited her mother's housing choice voucher, formerly known as Section 8. Briefly, she moved into her own apartment. After a few months, Sarah’s new landlord wrongfully attempted to collect a rental payment after receiving the full rental payment from the voucher program. Disgruntled, the landlord reported Sarah for squatting and had the authorities remove her from the property. Unjustly, this was non-negotiable. Sarah had 5 minutes to gather her things and leave to the street. Everything left was taken to the dump by the authorities. 

This began Sarah’s 5-year stint of homelessness. 

After years of wandering and just getting by, Sarah began working with the Sacramento Self-Help Housing Homeless Outreach Navigator. Outreach Navigators work as a resource for those on the street, helping people like Sarah get on track to secure permanent housing through navigating the housing and social program inventories of the region. When forced to leave her home, she lost important documentation that the navigator was now working to reclaim. Sarah slept in a tent while waiting for her items to be processed. “I was on the street waiting. It was absolute misery. I experienced some messed up stuff.” 

One morning, Sarah woke up to a text. The navigator’s connections and her patience paid off. She was moving into her own place at Quinn Cottages in Sacramento.

This was one of Sarah’s first messages to the navigator after being housed: “Don’t be alarmed if you don’t see me. I’ll be in the shower turning into a prune. And I’m fine with that.” 

Once settled, Sarah posted a donation drive on Next Door to collect sleeping bags for the homeless. It was almost winter. The response was incredible. At one point, “Hugs for the Homeless,” sold out the entire stock of sleeping bags on Amazon.com. This work was noticed by HOPE Cooperative, a fellow 501(c)3 organization in the region, who offered Sarah a job as a Homeless Outreach Navigator.

“I’ve come a long way from eating Popeyes Chicken right out of the dumpster. Now I have a brand new car and my own place. I have a life now. I have dreams, goals, and aspirations. And I’m making it happen. I’ve slept in parks, in cemeteries, I’ve slept in tents. You name it, I have been there. I’ve come a long way. Now I’m really glad to be giving back to my community.”