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By most standards, Michele Johnson's home isn't much to look at. No roaring fire warms her aching bones and no frilly curtains hide the gloomy clouds outside. A security guard patrols the community room, where at times nearly 200 women and children seek shelter for the night.
Sparse as it is, the Community Women's Shelter on Payne Avenue is giving Michele a strong foundation to get her back on her feet and into her own home.
"Sometimes you have to learn to crawl before you walk again," she said. The 40-year-old mother of seven lost her job at the former Catholic Charities shelter in Cleveland due to budget cuts. With no income, she lost her home, and her children went to live with their fathers or on their own. Eventually, she forfeited all of the belongings she had in storage because she could not afford the rent. Now she braves the biting wind outside the faded brick building waiting for the shelter's doors to open. Inside, the weathered walls and tattered table tops seem to mirror the worn looks on the women seeking refuge. Some sleep, some read, some just stare until the monotony is broken by an impromptu birthday celebration.
"It's hard to find any peace of mind. You don't get much sleep here," said Michele, who rises at 4:30 a.m. to shower before leaving for work as a nurse's aide. With more than 60 women in her dorm competing for one of four showers, it means early rising or no shower. Then she starts her arduous journey to her job in Beachwood. She transfers from three buses to a rapid in her 90-minute ride to work.
But even that voyage is not as tough as her path to homelessness. "A lot of people think if you are here, you must be on drugs or alcohol," she said. "But there are a lot of women in shelters because they were abused or lost jobs. There are bus drivers, nurses and computer whizzes living here. Sometimes you just need a little help." Most of Michele's meager possessions are packed in two green totes stacked against her bunk bed. Stuffed animals, family photographs and a Bible give her comfort when she sleeps and dreams of a better place where she can gather her fractured family under one roof.
Mental Health Services for Homeless Persons Inc. took over operations of the two Community Women's Shelters on Payne Avenue in February. One of the many agencies to benefit from Holiday Spirit, the shelter assisted 633 women and 161 children between February and the end of June with food, shelter and supportive services. "Some of these women have lost everything and have to start over," said Cindy Chaytor, director of the shelter. "We offer them temporary emergency help with the hopes that they will get their own place."
Michele is already on her way. With the shelter's help, she soon will qualify for vouchers and a chance at her own home. "I don't want to make this mistake again. I want my own home," she said. "When I do get it, the first thing I'm going to do is take a long hot shower." Until then, she said, the shelter "is a blessing."
Copyright 2004 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission.
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