Meet Karen
After struggling with financial and health issues, Karen was forced to make the difficult decision between spending the night in shelters crowded with strangers or on the streets hiding from predators every night. She lived like this for almost a year. Karen found herself at her lowest point — frustrated, depressed and lonely. After an unsuccessful attempt to end her life, she vowed to make changes to improve her life.
But that change would not have been possible without MHSA’s Home & Healthy for Good (HHG) program. Through MHSA Member Agency HomeStart, Karen was able to get housing. She is now celebrating more than 10 years of having her own place to call home, and she has reunited with her family, including her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Once in housing, individuals like Karen are safer than they were on the streets or in shelter. Karen’s reliance on emergency programs drastically decreased, and her quality of life increased by having stable housing.
