A New Home, A New Life

Recently, the team at CHRISTUS Our Daily Bread has secured housing for four clients. Getting housing requires a lot of steps, and the client trusting the team to work with them.

Don, a 47-year-old man who had been homeless for over five years, was one of these clients. “He rarely engaged with others and generally spoke only when asked a question,” Angela Joseph, Director of CHRISTUS Our Daily Bread, said. One day, he noticed a flyer advertising housing assistance and inquired. He later mentioned he had been on Galveston Housing Authority’s (GHA) wait list for many years, but had never received a follow-up. Upon checking with GHA, it was learned that his placement had been put on hold, pending confirmation and receipt of his replacement Social Security Card, which had been ordered sometime back.

Don requested a certified copy of his medical records from UTMB, and the Our Daily Bread staff mailed the records, along with his completed application to the Social Security Administration. “Within a week, Don received both confirmation letters and allowed us to fax them to GHA,” Joseph said. The next day he was approved for housing. As Don and the team looked around at each other, they noticed that everyone had tears in their eyes. “We knew this opportunity would be a life changing one for him,” Joseph said.

A week later, Don stopped by Our Daily Bread to check to see if he had any mail. Everyone noticed how different he was, more talkative and positive in his interactions. “We were happy to know that he was in a safe environment, and his life would now be headed in a much more positive direction,” Joseph said.