Truthfully, who among us has not needed a second chance? Recently I sat down with two of our shelter guests at Tedford Housing Warren and Cheryl, to hear, in their own words, what life was like before they became homeless, what their journey has been like since, and their hopes for the future. This became a longer conversation than there was space for in this column. Below is part I.

What was happening in your life that led to you being at the shelter?

Cheryl: I went through a pretty nasty divorce – I got stalked by someone and moved out of my home state of Missouri to come here and be near my family. I thought I would stay with my daughter. I was sleeping on the floor on couch cushions for about six months, but there really wasn’t enough room. Then the landlord moved in next door, so I really couldn’t stay there anymore. I was living in my car and also my friend had a camper in the woods, but there was no heat or electricity. It took me about a month of calling to get in here – calling everyday to see if they had room. Finally, they had an opening which was a blessing – at that point I was living in my car and that wasn’t really a good idea. When I got my divorce – my settlement was really small – I thought I’d be ok forever. I thought I’d be able to wing it. But my daughter said, “you’ve got to do something better Mom”, so I came here to get some help.

Warren: In 2016 I moved to Maine. Before that I was a chef – I had a business in Pennsylvania. One day I came home and found my partner of 13 ½ years, who had diabetes, dead. After that, I had no desire to do anything, but I knew I had to get my life together, so I moved north to Biddeford, Maine. I felt saddened and broken. I find enjoyment in helping others so I had homeless people come stay at my home. With that some brought drugs. Which led me to do something in my wildest dreams I never tried – prior to that, I didn’t get into addiction for over 35 years in the food industry. I was an open wound.

I had opened up a small restaurant in Biddeford but I was forced to close it due to COVID. I slept in the stock room during the whole time that restaurants had to be closed. When I briefly reopened I was not able to get people to come in fast enough. Which led me to couch surfing and sleeping in tents. What got me up here was one day the police told a group of us who were living in tents down by the Saco River that we couldn’t stay there. They took our tents and cut them. I talked to a caseworker down there and she told me about Tedford. I proceeded to get my Covid test (which I passed). I got on a train to Brunswick, have been filling in the time in the last year in a safe place – and able to de-stress myself. With help from my caseworker at Tedford, I now have an apartment that is just getting finished up and I’ll be moving to Lewiston and starting life over again.

Talk about a time that you didn’t worry about housing or the stress of being homeless.

Cheryl: I was married for 12 years. I should still be in my home, 200 sq. feet, detached garage in the back yard. Next thing I know I’m out on the curb, no money, no skills – I don’t know how to use a computer.

Before I got displaced I made blankets for Alzheimer’s patients for a nursing home in town – in Missouri. They liked them a lot and wanted to order more. But now my sewing stuff is all in a shed somewhere, and I don’t have room for my tables. And I hope to God I can pursue that dream again.

Warren: I owned houses. I sold them. I was a very successful chef in NY so I had money, cars…One of my first loves outside of cooking was being there for people that didn’t have. I had no problem giving them money if they needed that, say to cover their rent for the month, or bring them to my house to cook a meal. I did a lot of shelter work, cooked at day centers. I always grew up caring for those less fortunate than myself. I never thought, in my wildest nightmares, that I would be on the other side. So few people in today’s society truly care about people who – whatever it is – fell off the grid. But people don’t understand they are one day away from being homeless.

Part 2 of the interview with Warren and Cheryl will come in a future Giving Voice column.

Giff Jamison is the director of programs at Tedford Housing. Giving Voice is a weekly collaboration among four local non-profit service agencies to share information and stories about their work in the community.