As a child, Angel experienced domestic and sexual violence that caused her to develop severe PTSD and bipolar disorder. As she grew older, she struggled to work a steady job while parenting her children and managing her mental health but always had her mother to rely on when her mental health struggles overwhelmed her.
When her mom died, Angel experienced a nervous breakdown that left her unable to work. She was able to send her two oldest sons to live with a relative, but without any other support she and her youngest son and daughter became homeless. Sometimes they were able to stay at a friend or relative’s home for a while, but the stays never lasted long. When they couldn’t find shelter, they lived on the streets or in abandoned buildings. Often, they went without food.
Angel worked when she could, but lasting side effects from a medication left her in chronic pain and living on the streets had worsened her mental health so that focusing at work was nearly impossible. Inevitably, she would lose her job and be back on the streets with her children, where she experienced more violence. Alone, lifting her family out of homelessness felt impossible.
After more than seven years of struggle, Angel and her family found Nicholas House’s New Horizons program for chronically homeless families with a disability. Through the program, she was able to move her family into an apartment and reunite with her two oldest sons, parenting them full-time again for the first time in seven years. She was overjoyed to have her family together again.
With the guidance of her case manager, Angel received the medical and mental health support she needed to stabilize and was able to attend classes that gave her the resources she needed to plan for the future. When she had no one else to turn to, her case manager offered a listening ear. Slowly, things got better.
With her case manager’s support, Angel got a job managing billing and inventory for a logistics center and moved into a three-bedroom rental home with her children. Today, her family is thriving: Angel is confidently managing her mental health and attends every PTA meeting for her children’s schools, her oldest son will be attending college in the fall, her two middle sons are in high school and her youngest daughter is a two-time national champion track runner. In the future, Angel dreams of becoming a homeowner.
We are so amazed by Angel’s journey and her persistence in the face of enormous challenges. Her resilience inspires us and reminds us of the difference a loving and supportive community can make for the homeless families Nicholas House serves. We salute her as she steps into a bright new future with her family!