Our Stories
Meet Jessica
Jessica, 35, has survived homelessness, addiction, gun violence, and forced prostitution. But today, she is living independently in a supportive environment, receiving treatment for her substance use disorder, and hoping to begin nursing school this fall.
Jessica grew up in a single-parent home in northeast Rochester, with a mother who held down two jobs while trying to hold together her family of five. By the time Jessica was school age, her two older brothers were gone—one incarcerated, the other sent to a residential home for troubled children. Jessica essentially became a mom figure to her younger brother.
Meet Dean
After Dean settled in Rochester nearly 20 years ago, he worked hard to establish his own business. He enjoyed a comfortable suburban lifestyle with his wife and three daughters and was proud of how far he had come after growing up in a complicated home environment in South Africa with a father who worked tirelessly to make ends meet.
Dean thought that things were going well because, just as his father had worked hard to provide for him, he now was doing the same for his own family. But Dean took his comforts and life for granted; and over time, he lost everything.
Meet Carl
The word many people at Flower City Apartments use to describe Carl is “reserved.” But one suspects that his quiet demeanor might simply reflect the many losses Carl has endured in the past two years—the end of a relationship; the loss of his job; and perhaps most significantly, an involuntary separation from his six children. Today, Carl is patiently rebuilding his life one step at a time; and having a secure, stable place to live has been an important part of his continued recovery.
Meet Stephanie
When a new resident arrives at Person Centered Housing Options’ Flower City Apartments, they meet Peer Advocate Stephanie Forrester. Stepping into her office, they pass through a door covered with taped-on Narcan boxes, condoms, and fentanyl and xylazine test strips. On her desk she keeps a large jar filled with candy and sticks of lip balm. Next, Stephanie hands them their move-in kit (a garbage can, kitchenware, cleaning tools) and lets them know when they can access food pantries, R-Community Bikes, and other partner resources to help smooth their transitions. These are just the first steps Stephanie takes to open the conversation with each resident on the way to building trust.
Meet Lori
Lori spent her days running through the woods and swimming in the creek while growing up the youngest of five on the rural west side of Monroe County. For years her talent and love for singing would take her all over the state performing at festivals, sporting events, and weddings. Becoming a mom to her oldest son Donovan was a joyous event, and she made caring for him her top priority as developmental delays unfolded. Her son’s father was less engaged.
Meet David
When David moved almost an hour away from Rochester to his girlfriend’s home, he was looking forward to their life together, and to their baby on the way. It turned out to be a chaotic household with toxic extended-family relationships. The situation deteriorated even more after his son was born and David was eventually forced to leave.
“It was such a painful time for me when I had to leave my son. I had nothing and was living outside, and I knew I needed to get back to Rochester,” David said.
A phone call to a friend at the House of Mercy, a Rochester shelter for the homeless, resulted in a bus ticket back home that night, and David’s first steps to getting his son back. But then he contracted COVID-19, which led to a three and a half month stay in the hospital, including one month in a coma.
Meet Kaprisha
The terms of Kaprisha’s probation required a valid address, but it wasn’t safe to go back to where she had been living with a boyfriend. Certainly not with her infant son and 3-year-old daughter. The Department of Social Services referred her to the Volunteers of America for housing, and that’s when her intake questionnaire was flagged for PCHO.
The questionnaire screens candidates for high instances of domestic abuse and other factors that contribute to chronic housing instability. Kaprisha’s score was high.
“There were a lot of traumas leading up to where I am now, starting with the loss of my father when I was six. Everything went downhill after that, and everything was a challenge for my mother. It was an unstable childhood, and I saw a lot of things I shouldn’t have,” Kaprisha said.
Meet Joyce
Joyce, a PCHO Housing Stability Coordinator, guides our clients on their path home. Woven into that process are the threads of her experiences over a 25+ year career that has included providing support services to families who navigate trauma, substance use, mental health challenges, and the juvenile justice system. Relationship-building has always been at the center of how Joyce works.
“What has caused their instability? That is where I start with each client. Once the person feels comfortable dropping their guard, that’s when you find out what you need to know to customize a strategy that works for their journey and improves their situation,” Joyce said.
Meet Tiny
Marilyn, a.k.a. “Tiny,” brings a critical element to the PCHO Board of Directors: lived experience.
As a long-time resident of the YWCA Apartments of Rochester and with her own story of circumstances that led to homelessness, Tiny also fulfills the role of being a role model for people who are on their own path to stable housing.
Tiny excels at this because of the decades she spent coping with what she calls the insanity of addiction, including cycles of incarceration and homelessness.
Meet Tiffany
Tiffany’s 23 years in active addiction resulted in many arrests and stints in jail – and many courtroom offers to enter a detox program. Over and over again, she declined to sign on.
“I was looking for that high all the time, in alcohol, crack, a little bit of everything,” Tiffany said. She recalls wanting to keep using, despite knowing addiction was a fatal disease that she had seen take her own loved ones. Even though she was worried about dying out on the streets herself, Tiffany also realizes now that each of those times she declined detox at court appearances was because she was likely ‘too out of it’ to recognize what the opportunity could mean.
Until last summer when she was in court after an arrest on three warrants.
2023 Impact Report
Whether its new programs, services we provide, success stories and accomplishes, you will find all sorts of ways PCHO impacts our communities. End Homelessness is a paramount goal to PCHO but we are so much more. Our residents and participants rely on us for life saving supplies, advocacy and even support going to the doctors. Check out our impact report today to learn more!