Dorothy
Homeless shelters aren’t the first place you’d expect to find a college student living but for 24-year-old Dorothy, that’s exactly the case. After a series of lost jobs and no one to lean on, she ended up at Susan’s Place.

“It’s been quite a six months here,” Dorothy said. “I was very unaware of the public assistance programs. I think a lot of people are very unaware.”

Rather than dropping out of school, Dorothy has been working hard to stay in class and graduate.

“The staff at Susan’s Place has supported me to remain in school while I’m here. They really stress support. They show you that the helping hand is available and you don’t have to be ashamed to take it.”

Not that it’s been easy. Apart from actual classes, working and trying to find permanent housing, finding a quiet place to study has been a challenge.

“I tend to study in the library at school and use the computer there. It’s difficult to find a quiet place to study in a building of 200 women,” she said.

Dorothy, a Psychology major, wants to graduate and become a therapist, saying that her experience at Susan’s Place has given her first-hand knowledge of people who are in need and how to help them. She has, what she describes as a “difficult background” but is looking to leave it all behind her, something that Susan’s Place is enabling her to do.

“My time at Susan’s Place represents a transitional point in my life. It’s been a clarifying experience and has helped give me a clear view of what’s going on in the world around me,” she said. “Being able to stay in school is really important to me. Becoming a therapist has become a purpose for my life – to help people get through their issues like they (the staff at Susan’s Place) have helped me. Had it been anyone else, I wouldn’t have been able to make it through.”

See other stories at "Homeless Voices."