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Stories of Hope

The vignettes and statements below illustrate the good and necessary work done by the programs that will be housed in the Hope Center. These stories illustrate the challenges faced by persons who are homeless, and the issues that Gethsemane Community Services (GCS), Soup & Movies, and Mary’s Place help each person address. As is evident, these programs welcome all to come in, take a break, use resources and phones, and feel cared for and about.

Andrea: “Well, I think the 1st time I came to Mary’s Place, I had just been raped. I came in terrified and distraught. Women were having loud conversations over the table, making coffee and cooking eggs. It felt like home. I immediately relaxed. I had come from the hospital with 19 stitches from my hip to my inner thigh; the feeling of all the women was whole and cleansing. That’s why I came back. I have fallen in love with the women here.”

Drexel: Drexel came to Seattle from Los Angeles on the Greyhound bus with $67 and all his possessions in multiple well-packed satchels. Drexel, who is disables, began walking the area around the Greyhound station toting over 100 pounds of baggage and settled in at a temporary home sleeping in the doorway of the Urban Rest Stop. Seeing the Community Services sign at Gethsemane he cam in to inquire with a detailed written list of tasks he needed help with. During a series of visits we addressed these, including accessing shelter, medical care, transfer of his social security funds and payeeship, and case management. On one visit, Wilbur’s legs were swollen up like watermelons, and we referred him for immediate medical assessment. He turned out to have serious and potentially life-threatening heart and pulmonary issues and was hospitalized for several days while he was stabilized on appropriate medication. Drexel says, on a scale of one to ten, he arrived in Seattle as a “one,” with the highest level of need for help. Now, he says, “I’m at a good ‘ten’. I’m off the street and waiting for an apartment.”

Judy: “It is so important to be called by your name, because when you are homeless, you get called a lot of names, and not necessarily your own.”

Richard: Richard also arrived in Seattle on the Greyhound bus. He came to Seattle from Oklahoma for a fresh start. His marriage of 20 years had ended, his parents had died, and he heard of good job opportunities in this area. The first week, Richard was robbed in his motel and lost all of his ID. He came to GCS and we began a 4-month process of advocacy to replace all the needed documents. During this protracted process, Richard exhausted the $2800 he had brought to establish himself in Seattle in motel rooms, and began sleeping under a bridge. Never homeless before, Richard felt desperate. He had lost four job opportunities because he didn’t have ID, and the series of denials and rebuffs he experienced in making good-faith efforts to simply obtain needed documentation made him feel he had no hope of changing his situation. At one point, he said, “I just wanted to end it.” He went to a gun shop, where he was fortunately denied a permit and came to Gethsemane shortly thereafter. After confirming he had no further plans for self-harm, we called the Oklahoma Department of Vital Records and received a promise that the birth certificate we had been awaiting would be forthcoming. When he finally his Washington State ID, Richard wasted no time in reapplying for work. As of our last interview in November he had eight applications pending. Asked how he was feeling, Richard said, “I feel fine. I don’t feel like the world has beaten Richard today. I could be homeless again tomorrow ad still be okay because I have ID. In Seattle you can get food, but you can’t survive without ID.”

Sylvia: “If you have no family, it’s the one you want to join. They welcome you with open arms at Mary’s Place.”

Cecil and Vondra: Seattle residents Cecil and Vondra had been homeless in shelters, staying with friends, and in Cecil’s car for 10 months when they came to Gethsemane for help. Both are disabled, Vondra from an auto accident that left her in a coma for 6 months and Cecil from degenerative hip disease for which he is awaiting surgery. Cecil is a college-educated Vietnam vet who served on the front lines of Da Nang and Khe Sanh. Vondra, who hadn’t had ID for over 25 years, needed this in order for the couple to obtain subsidized housing. Over 1 ½ months GCS helped Vondra procure the multiple documents needed for her Washington State ID. They are now awaiting Cecil’s hip surgery and are on the 1 – 2 year waiting list for low-income housing. Cecil, who has always done manual labor, will need to be retrained for employment when he has healed from surgery. About homelessness, Vondra says, “I never thought it was going to be me.” Cecil states honestly that his faith has been shaken while he has been homeless. “I feel like Job sometimes, but at an unexpected moment something good will happen, and I’ll know He’s there. He’s working it out.” About Gethsemane, Cecil says, “It’s always good to come here and spend some time with the family.”

Siany: “I’m grateful I have a place to go. I’m happy here. I am no better than anybody. And nobody is better than me at Mary’s Place. We’re all human.”

Ryan: Thirty-two-year-old Ryan, who has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, had become addicted to methamphetamine before he got clean and had a son with his girlfriend in Michigan. Things went well until the couple split up and the girlfriend took his son with her to California. Seeking a new start, Ryan moved to Seattle for work and stayed with a friend in his apartment until the landlord evicted them for breach of lease agreement. Ryan spent a week on the streets of Seattle before finding Bread of Life Mission, which referred him to Gethsemane for help with shelter vouchers. GCS supplied Ryan with both shelter vouchers and bus tickets to get to job interviews. Not only did Ryan receive multiple job offers in Seattle, he also got an offer for a well-paying restaurant management position in California, where Ryan moved to be close to his son. Ryan said, “Without a place to sleep and without bus tickets to get back and forth from job interviews, there is no way I would have made my way to a four-star restaurant job.”

Betty: “Mary’s Place helped me with my diabetes. I’m not going blind anymore. I’m no longer confused; I have clear thinking.”

Lan: “Sometimes life is hard, but [at Mary’s] there is still someone to say "I love you."