WEBVTT

00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:05.060
[Music]

00:00:05.680 --> 00:00:09.160
I was born into poverty so I did grow up

00:00:09.160 --> 00:00:12.000
in um that situation. So I had to grow up

00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:14.719
really quick and I got through that. I

00:00:14.719 --> 00:00:17.160
had a bachelor's degree in fine arts but

00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:19.720
then I uh was in a 20-year marriage that

00:00:19.720 --> 00:00:22.519
was uh abusive in some ways. Um I did

00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:25.920
have two great children. I did divorce. He

00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:27.679
managed to leave me with nothing, no

00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:29.679
money at all. So I had to raise the kids

00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:32.800
back in poverty, back on food stamps. My

00:00:32.800 --> 00:00:34.879
youngest uh left the

00:00:34.879 --> 00:00:37.640
house to go to college. Literally the

00:00:37.640 --> 00:00:40.760
week we drove him to college everything

00:00:40.760 --> 00:00:42.800
finally completely fell apart. Cause I had

00:00:42.800 --> 00:00:44.480
so many financial problems I could never

00:00:44.480 --> 00:00:45.360
afford

00:00:45.360 --> 00:00:47.760
rent. Halloween I had to start living in

00:00:47.760 --> 00:00:50.559
my car. I lived there for 10

00:00:50.559 --> 00:00:54.760
months. The second night was 14 degrees and I

00:00:54.760 --> 00:00:57.719
had a week to prepare with no money for

00:00:57.719 --> 00:01:01.160
this. Um and then the I did drive Uber

00:01:01.160 --> 00:01:04.000
Eats to make money with the car, and then

00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:07.520
my car um broke down and I no longer had

00:01:07.520 --> 00:01:09.880
money to fix it last summer so that

00:01:09.880 --> 00:01:11.560
forced me into

00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:14.159
shelters. Gateway for for a few different

00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:16.880
reasons, um made it possible for me to

00:01:16.880 --> 00:01:19.320
actually like succeed and get out of

00:01:19.320 --> 00:01:23.520
homelessness. For me what was very

00:01:23.520 --> 00:01:26.560
important that I hadn't had for a year

00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:28.119
and a half was

00:01:28.119 --> 00:01:30.439
privacy. Uh having your own own little

00:01:30.439 --> 00:01:33.600
space, and having a little curtain as a

00:01:33.600 --> 00:01:35.610
door that was everything to

00:01:35.610 --> 00:01:36.880
[Music]

00:01:36.880 --> 00:01:41.479
me. Well Gateway helped me um fill out

00:01:41.479 --> 00:01:45.159
housing applications. Gave me dignity.

00:01:45.159 --> 00:01:47.680
Gave me um a

00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:51.920
bathroom, a shower, um Regular meals which

00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:55.200
helped a lot uh because that made me uh

00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:58.479
made me healthy. I now have a full-time

00:01:58.479 --> 00:02:01.799
job. I've been approved for an apartment

00:02:01.799 --> 00:02:03.000
but

00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:06.200
Gateway has finally gotten me to where I

00:02:06.200 --> 00:02:09.680
needed to be.

00:02:12.160 --> 00:02:15.340
[Music]