St. Vincent de Paul’s Ozanam Manor provides transitional housing to help homeless elderly and disabled homeless adults find decent affordable housing. It also helps serve St. Vincent de Paul’s primary goal to give people an opportunity to grow by serving the poor.
In the case I’m about to describe, two volunteer Ozanam Manor mentors needed all of the skills and compassion they could muster. The results were wonderful!
Cynthia’s husband of 13 years deserted her with three children, few job skills and a house she could not afford. She eventually lost her home to foreclosure. She became depressed, lost custody of her children and lived alone on the streets for years in shame and isolation. She said that it was her faith in God that kept her from taking her life. Finally, her family sent for her to come home to Phoenix, though they were not able to house her themselves. A domestic violence shelter referred her to Ozanam Manor where her case manager, Jamie Earl, referred her to two volunteer mentors based on her greatest needs.
The first was Jack Ryan.
Jack is a retired accountant who in his life had accumulated a great deal of wisdom about how the world works. He accompanied Cynthia to court and helped her to clear her driving record. The judged waived all fines and sentenced her to 300 community service hours, which Cynthia chose to complete at St. Vincent de Paul. Cynthia said that it was a “fulfilling experience” since she understood the struggles of homeless people so well.
Cynthia’s second mentor was Wanda Conte.
Wanda helped Cynthia set up a budget plan and clear up her credit history so that she would be able to rent an apartment. Under Wanda’s tutelage, Cynthia sent letters to her creditors. She arranged affordable payments where she could clear them from her credit history. During September 2008, after 11 months at Ozanam Manor, Cynthia was able to move into a HUD-subsidized apartment in Phoenix. Now that she is able to live independently, Cynthia said that she is very happy with her life and has her “joyful spirit” back. All of Cynthia’s family continues to lives in Phoenix and be supportive.
