Jeannie — A Journey Home

Jeannie first experienced homelessness in Florida after her husband passed away. “I have been homeless on and off for several years,” Jeannie says. “When I first became homeless, I was living in Florida, so it was easier to live outside. However, I have a chronic medical condition, so I would try to sleep in shelters, and sometimes I was able to stay with friends.”

After a couple of years of experiencing homelessness, Jeannie was able to find a full-time job with health insurance in Connecticut. “Things were going well for me,” Jeannie says. “I liked my job and I had moved into an apartment with my boyfriend at the time. He became physically and emotionally abusive, and I needed to leave for my own safety.” Unfortunately, that decision meant that Jeannie became homeless once again.

Her friends and family urged Jeannie to come to Massachusetts to seek safety. “When I moved here, I didn’t have a steady place to stay,” Jeannie says. “I lost my job in Connecticut and my healthcare, and I became homeless again. I ended up coming to Pine Street’s Women’s Inn. That turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve made.”

“Pine Street was able to help me get an apartment within six months,” Jeannie says. “It was the happiest day of my life when I came to my unit and unpacked my stuff. I’ve been here for three years now. Just to have my own space, somewhere to call home, somewhere to be safe — it means so much to me after all the struggles I’ve been through.”

Now that Jeannie has her own apartment, she is working with her case manager to apply for part-time work and manage her healthcare. She is also working on maintaining her friendships and expanding her community.

“I have a nice circle of friends who were also once homeless,” Jeannie says. “We celebrate birthdays and other milestones together, I babysit for my friends’ kids — it’s a nice community. I feel very lucky to have made it to where I am today. I thank Pine Street for being part of my journey home.”