♥.♥.♥

Success Stories of Former L & F Guests

Loaves and Fishes Ministries is here to serve our brothers and sisters experiencing homelessness. No matter the season, we offer a place for our guests to feel safe enough to gather their thoughts, make plans, and go forward with their own sense of newness and hope. While not everyone is able to move into their own housing after they leave the shelter, we make sure that those who aren’t able to find affordable housing can celebrate other successes and progress they make during their stay with us. We would like to share some success stories! (Note: Names changed to protect their identities)

We’re So Thankful for “A&D” who came to Loaves and Fishes in early fall of 2020, but so much led up to that moment. For five years leading up their homelessness, this couple stayed at a local hotel in exchange for maintenance services, where A or D was always required to remain onsite and available for service calls. They accepted the agreement out of desperation, and eventually felt stuck, like they were tethered to the hotel.

In late 2019, they walked away from hotel in search of something better. They rented a storage unit to keep their meager belongings and sometimes seek relief when the weather was bad. They lived like this for almost a year. 10 months later, after exhausting options with friends, family, and shelters, they needed something better than sleeping outdoors.

A&D arrived at Loaves and Fishes in fall of 2020, missing most of their identification documents. Determined to find a place of their own, they spent every day walking the streets, knocking on doors, looking for a private landlord who would work with them, with no documented employment or rental history for almost a decade. Their hard work paid off! After only a few weeks, A&D were approved for an apartment. The next couple weeks was filled with excitement, hope, and celebration. For the first time in almost a decade, they were about have a place to call home.

Then it happened… On the SAME day the lease was to be sign, the landlord called to tell them he gave the apartment to someone else. They were heartbroken and defeated. They left Loaves and Fishes shortly after without securing housing.

A few months later we received a call from D about returning to Loaves and Fishes without his wife. He needed to do it alone this time… and DID! In January of 2021, A&D moved into their home.

Where are they now? A&D are about to sign a new lease and have been approved for Section 8 housing assistance. Both are currently working, and always make themselves available to help around the shelter. Loaves and Fishes is so thankful for the hard work and perseverance that they showed throughout their journey out of homelessness. It has been such an honor to watch this deserving couple begin to thrive in their new home! ♥

This success story would not have been possible without the help of our community partners!

Holy Cross Services

– City Rescue Mission of Lansing

– Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)

– St. Vincent de Paul – Lansing

– Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA)

– Becka Management

– Cardboard Prophets

– Cristo Rey Community Center

♥ Thank you for being part of the Loaves and Fishes Family! We Love you! ♥

“Sally” came to the shelter after living in an abandoned house for over three weeks. While she was here she was able to sign up for subsidized housing programs and gather resources and referrals to various programs in the community. It had been difficult for Sally to access other programs because she was constantly focusing on staying safe and surviving. She was also able to use the shelter as a mailing address while she was here which helped her to follow through on assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services. Sally was unable to find permanent housing during her stay with us, but she continued to return to pick up her mail. One day she was happy to report she received her subsidized housing voucher and moved into her own place. We haven’t seen her since then because she now has her own address to get her mail.♥

“Monica” moved into Zacchaeus House long-term transitional program with her 3-year-old son toward the end of summer. She was pregnant with a due date shortly before Christmas. Shortly after she moved in, Monica was able to find employment and childcare for her son. A week before Thanksgiving she went into labor and her second son was born, just over 4 weeks early. Thankfully baby and mama were just fine, and both came home three days after he was born. Monica and her children used the time she was off work to bond as a family of three, and she was able to access housing assistance resources. By the time she returned to work, her name had come up on a subsidized housing list and she was able to locate safe and affordable housing. After an eight month stay at Zacchaeus House, Monica obtained and maintained full-time employment, paid the minimal program fee every month, added a beautiful family member, and located and moved her family into their own apartment. ♥