Dorothy: When You Are Homeless
Dorothy, currently in her late sixties, moved to Minneapolis in 2004 when she decided to remove her eldest son, Anthony, who is developmentally disabled, from an Illinois state institution where he had lived for 30 years. Dorothy believed her son had been neglected and abused and wanted to care for him in her own home.
But after only a few months of caring for Anthony, Dorothy realized she could not handle him. Because Anthony was nonverbal, he would act out physically. If she tried to encourage him to do things he didn’t want to do, he became defensive and would sometimes attack or hit her. The breaking point came when Dorothy had to call the police who brought Anthony to Hennepin County Medical Center for evaluation. “I had to seek placement for [Anthony] so that he wouldn’t hurt me or himself,” Dorothy explained. After visiting a number of residential facilities in the area, Dorothy found one that appeared to be a good fit and got Anthony situated in his new home.
Over the months that followed Dorothy saw her savings dwindle away rapidly. Finally, she could no longer afford her apartment and put her belongings in storage. She was homeless.
Dorothy revealed, “When you are homeless, you walk all day. You can’t sit or loiter too long anywhere. You have to be out of the shelter at 7:00 a.m. and the doors don’t open again until 6:00 p.m.” Most of the places where homeless people gather made Dorothy feel uncomfortable because of the swearing and bad behavior that took place. After several months of walking eleven hours each day, Dorothy was emotionally and physically exhausted. “I was a homeless senior and needed somewhere to hang out,” stated Dorothy.
“While walking one day, I discovered the United Way,” Dorothy explained. “I asked them if they knew a place I could stay throughout the day. I was told about Volunteers of America–Minnesota’s Park ElderCenter.” Park ElderCenter offers older adults a wide range of activities, programs and services including group dining, health and wellness classes, educational workshops, cultural events, volunteer opportunities, social work services, caregiver support services, computer literacy, adult day programs and more.
“I went there the same day and passed out from exhaustion,” said Dorothy. “They were very kind to me and welcomed me. They helped me get into the senior dining program and gave me a ride back to the shelter so I would not have to walk.”
Over the next months, Dorothy participated in Park ElderCenter programs including book club, bible study, health education, genealogy and computer classes. She obtained food from the food shelf and the social workers at Park ElderCenter helped Dorothy apply for other services that would help her get back on her feet.
“The social workers and directors treated me with dignity and respect. They were a godsend in my time of need. I will never forget them and the seniors I formed friendships with,” Dorothy reported. “When my apartment came through, I continued to come to the Center for lunch. And for the kindness that was shown to me, I decided to give something back – I became a volunteer.”
Today, Dorothy continues to live independently in her own apartment and attends Park ElderCenter activities when she can. She said, “My main focus is being an advocate for my son [now age 52] and seeing that his needs are being met.”