At 68 years old, Marie never imagined she would experience homelessness for the first time. She had been independent her entire life. But after several years of helping family members through difficult circumstances, Marie found herself financially stretched and without a stable place to live. She was also still recovering from open-heart surgery. Unsure where to turn, Marie called 211 and was referred to Water Street Mission. 

“I was petrified,” she remembers. Most of what Marie knew about shelters came from television. She arrived at Water Street with her medications, the clothes she was wearing, and one change of clothes. She had no idea what to expect. 

Thankfully, the fear she had began to fade quickly. “The staff made me feel comfortable and at ease immediately,” she says. Marie began meeting other guests and getting to know the life coaches. Before long, she was even teaching a few of them how to play pinochle. 

“I felt safe,” Marie says. “I knew I had a safe place to sleep. Three meals a day. So it changed very quickly from fear to acceptance to, okay, there’s a plan here, even if I can’t see it.” 

She ended up leaving Water Street for a short period of time and stayed with her daughter. When she returned to the mission for the second time, she entered the Residential Program as soon as she was able to. 

That’s where she says Water Street became more than a place to stay. 

“The residential program is phenomenal,” she says. “I’ve made friends who are like a second family.” Recently, Marie spent a weekend visiting her daughter. By Sunday evening, she found herself thinking, “Yeah, I’m ready to go home.” The women in Residential had become that close. 

Marie has also found support through classes focused on behavioral health, communication, finances, personal growth, and faith. “The Christian atmosphere and teachings, and way of life, it’s not only taught in classrooms and chapel, it’s the way the whole staff here lives that life and passes that on to you,” Marie says. 

Marie grew up Roman Catholic. Faith has always been important to her, but her time at Water Street has given her opportunities to deepen it, ask questions and encounter different perspectives. 

“What gives me hope right now? My faith,” she says. “My faith always gives me hope. I know I’m here for a reason.”

One of the things that surprised Marie most was discovering what Water Street really is. For years, she had received Water Street’s letters and occasionally donated. She knew helping people was worthwhile, but she says she never understood the extent of the care until she needed it herself.

“I never would have envisioned what this place is without having been here,” she says. 

Today, Marie hopes to regain her independence and have a place of her own again. But she’ll leave with something she didn’t expect to find during one of the hardest seasons of her life: a close community, practical support, deeper faith and hope. 

As Marie puts it, Water Street showed her “what a great experience it could be in the worst time of your life.”