CalAIM Stories:
Hospitality House in Nevada County Making a difference, one neighbor at a time.
Tyson Powers, CalAIM Program Manager for Hospitality House in Nevada County, was worried about one of his clients. His client, we’ll call her Jan, was nearly 80 years old … and homeless. She had been living for a year in a trailer in the woods without electricity or running water. She told Tyson she felt safe there, away from other people. The trailer was about 30 minutes from their rural town, up windy mountain roads.
As the fall weather came on, Tyson’s concerns grew. “It gets cold up there,” he said. “You couldn’t contact her because she was out of cell phone range, and she didn’t want anyone to visit.” But Tyson had a great option for Jan! A new apartment in town. Hospitality House could help her with the deposit and rent through its CalAIM Community Support services. Jan liked the idea. But there was a problem. Jan was suspicious of paperwork. “She was leery of signing things because she had been taken advantage of through leases,” Tyson said. “That’s how she had lost her home, through an eviction that shouldn’t have been an eviction.”
After the Hospitality House staff helped Jan work through her concerns over many days, she finally agreed to sign the papers. But they weren’t there yet. Jan was fearful of moving in because of the other tenants in the building and the noises in town. She felt safe in her trailer. Why should she move? Six weeks went by as Hospitality House staff worked with Jan to help her overcome her fears. After the Hospitality House staff helped Jan work through her concerns over many days, she finally agreed to sign the papers. And Jan moved in!
The unfamiliar neighbor noises drove her out from time to time in the beginning, but she is now settled in. Besides housing tenancy support, Hospitality House provides Jan with education in cooking, cleaning and other daily living topics through Community Support day habilitation services. “She’s happy to be there,” Tyson said. “I hope she’ll stay forever.”
Thank you, Tyson and Hospitality House, for making a difference in Jan’s life.
