Jocelyne and Jazmyne thrive in Passage Community Housing

Jocelyne and Jazmyne in front of Passage Community Housing. Passage Community Housing is a program of Simpson Housing Services.

Jocelyne says that the last year of her life has been a “dream come true.” A little over a year ago, she was in need of a dream to come along.

Jocelyne had been homeless for a little over three years. “I was bouncing around, staying with friends when I could.” From the outside, things looked like they were going pretty well. Jocelyn was working as a customer service representative and going to school at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Even with the salary she was earning, she simply couldn’t find a place that she could afford, especially with her school expenses. When Jocelyne found out she was pregnant, she knew that something had to change. Luckily, a friend was a resident at Passage Community Housing and suggested Jocelyne check it out.

Passage Community Housing is a program of Simpson Housing Services. In November 2007, Simpson purchased the 17-unit apartment building for formerly homeless families. To qualify for residence, parents must either be working or in school. Coincidentally, Simpson Housing and Passage Community were two of the first transitional housing programs in the state, having both begun in the early 1980s.

Jocelyne thinks that the community part of the name has been a key part of her success. “We are all parents so everyone understands what it is like to raise a child. I am the best of friends with my neighbor.” Jocelyne appreciates all the different types of help that she and her daughter Jazmyne receive at Passage. “They help me with everything. Food, toys, even pajamas. If I don’t have an answer to something, they help me find it.” (Most often, “they” refers to Wendy Hayden who has been an advocate at Passage Community for over 15 years.)

"Jocelyne has an inner strength that keeps her going. She works very hard at keeping a positive attitude. On becoming a mother, I have seen Jocelyne glow with unconditional love," says Wendy. 

Jocelyne is going back to finish college soon and she is excited about it. “Jazmyne and me are doing really great now. Not getting my degree is not an option. I have Jazmyne to take care of. Nothing can happen in life until you have a foundation. Our home is our foundation."

	Sue, a Housing Specialist with the WHP program, and Josephine, one of the first program participants. Josephine, a former shelter guest, has been in her apartment for seven months.

Josephine reaches out
This former shelter guest stays close to her friends who are still on the streets

Josephine is a 61 year-old mother and grandmother, and not only to her own children and grandchildren. Josie, as she is called, is also known as mother and grandmother to the many women who are out on the streets – women she grew close to while she herself was homeless. “The homeless community is like a family. We help each other,” she says.

Josie, a former Simpson Women’s Shelter guest and one of the first participants in the newly formed Women’s Housing Partnership (WHP), has been in her St. Paul apartment for six months. She loves her clean, bright one-bedroom, but she does admit: “I sometimes miss my friends and the staff at the shelter.” Women who are going through challenging times together become very close. When she is not working at her job as a Personal Care Assistant, Josie spends much of her day checking on her friends who are still without a permanent place to call home.

Sadly and ironically, the day that Josie moved into her apartment last fall, one of her close friends who was still on the streets, Christina, died. Christina had battled a drinking problem for a long time. “I got off the bus that morning and saw her. She had spent the night in Loring Park and was in bad shape. I told her to go to the Simpson shelter that night and I would try to meet her there, and I left to go to an appointment. I heard later in the day that she had died.”

Josie talks about how hard life on the street is and about how vulnerable women are. “Many women stay in abusive relationships or move in with men, thinking they will be safe, but they’re not. Many are suffering from mental illness or are sick. They need a safe space to get better.”

“So many of these women have no one. They feel like no one cares. They need something to live for. I am fortunate. I have gardening, my volunteering and my 13 year-old granddaughter.” Since its inception last fall, the WHP program has been working to help frequent guests from the women’s shelter not only find a permanent place to call home, but also to find whatever it will take to help them keep their housing. “I tell my friends to not give up and to not be afraid to ask for help.”

Since the fall of 2007, nine women have moved from the shelter into housing.

For many in our community, homelessness is a biting, daily reality. On any night in the Twin Cities, over 4,000 men, women, and children are homeless or precariously housed, with many living in doorways, under bridges, in tents, or in situations that are just not safe.

Nearly half of all adults experiencing homelessness report a significant mental illness, over half suffer from chemical dependency, and at least one in ten have a physical disability. Over a third of men and women experiencing homelessness have reported staying in abusive relationships because they had nowhere else to live.

For many, homelessness is just a case of some bad luck. It could be a medical emergency, a broken-down car, or a lost job. Others face barriers such as the lack of available affordable housing, a lack of education, and racism. The stories are not that different than yours or mine.

Please take a moment to meet some of our shelter guests and families.

SIMPSON STORIES

Wilbur and Mary G.		Liz, Nataly and Liz
Cynthia		Josephine
Brian K.		Nicole
Helen's family		Ron R.
LaTonya		John R.
John M.		Clemme
Arnold		Jessica view video
William		Kim and Justin

The Simpson DVD tells the story of what we do and who we serve. Request a copy