25 January 2005

Leslie's Journey

Leslie with PATH outreach staff members Renee Shepherd (left) and Rosemary Gaffney Etheart, R.N. (right), who helped Leslie move from the streets into one of the five MHS residential sites.

Leslie was protected, she said, by her soldiers. Even though no one else saw them, she knew they would keep her safe. One day last summer, a man wearing a mask beat her on the head with a piece of wood.  Even an assault would not dislodge her. When outreach staff reached her a few days after the attack, her head was matted with blood and she refused medical attention. MHS staff arranged for an emergency hospitalization.  She did not object when police took her to an emergency room.

Leslie says she became homeless when her husband left her, and that she was homeless as a child. We do not know how long Leslie has been homeless. She tells us she was homeless for a year, but outreach staff began their work with her in 1999. She says when she is homeless, all she thinks about is "breathing and existing."

Since she was discharged from the hospital in August 2004, she has been living at an MHS residential program with eleven other formerly homeless persons. What does she like about her home? Leslie responds in short phrases. "Locks on the door. Warmth."

Renee Sheperd and Rosemary Gaffney Etheart are two members of our PATH outreach staff.  Renee has been with PATH since April, 2004. Before that, she worked at one our residential sites for five years.   Rosemary is a registered nurse who works part-time in PATH, and part-time in our Community Women's Shelter.

PATH stands for Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness, and is supported by funds from the Ohio Department of Mental Health, and the Cuyahoga County Community Mental Health Board.  Leslie is one of 260 homeless individuals who were served by PATH staff in 2004.  Other outreach programs operated by MHS are the Outreach and Representative Payee program, and the SPOT program of 7-day afternoon and evening treatment and support.

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Copyright (c) 2005
Mental Health Services for Homeless Persons, Inc. (MHS)
All Rights Reserved.
MHS, 1736 Superior Avenue East, Cleveland, Ohio 44114-2944 U.S.A.
Voice - 216-623-6555 / TDD - 216-623-6540

Julie Rittenhouse, President, Board of Trustees
Steven M. Friedman, Ph.D., Executive Director

MHS is a contract agency of the Cuyahoga County Community Mental Health Board, and a partner agency of United Way Services. The MHS website is at http://www.mhs-inc.org