Donna is Walking Into Her Next Chapter

A year ago, Donna was in a wheelchair.  Today, at 57, she walks the halls of her Grandma’s House of Hope home on her own two feet.

“I feel like I’m walking like a crab,” she laughs.  Maybe so.  But she’s walking.

Donna arrived last November from a large shelter in a converted hotel, using a walker and carrying the weight of deep depression. 

“When I was deep in depression, my first go-to was always to isolate,” she says. 

What she found at Grandma’s House of Hope was something different: a real house, a small community of women, and a rhythm to each day that gently pulled her back into the world.

Small Steps, Big Wins

For older adults experiencing homelessness, health setbacks hit harder and recovery comes slower.  About one in four of the people we serve are seniors, and we see every day how the right environment changes what’s possible.

For Donna, that started with something as simple as household chores.

“The fact that we do chores has actually helped me to improve physically because I am now able to challenge myself with how much I can do.”

Inside the house, surrounded by walls and chairs to steady herself, she began to experiment.  Seven steps without holding on.  Then ten.  Then fifteen.  She remembers showing her case manager, Lisa, those first seven steps. 

“We were so excited, and I was so encouraged that she was excited for me.”

Now she moves through the house freely, saving her walker for trips outside. 

“The biggest takeaway that I have is really that I can do more than what I thought I could.”

Seen, Known, and Cared For

Donna credits staff who take the time to truly know her.  On her hardest pain days, Lisa could read her at a glance. 

“She could just take one look at me and tell me, ‘Girl, lie down.’”

“It doesn’t feel like they have to check the boxes,” Donna says.  “They take the time to get to know you.”

The structure matters too, even on what she calls her “grouchy days.”  It keeps her from slipping back into isolation. 

“I don’t have the freedom to allow myself to just lay around, do nothing, think of all my limitations.”

An Accidental Gardener

Then there’s the garden.  Donna set out to clean up one overgrown, dying tomato plant.  Before long, she was tending the whole yard.

“I killed a cactus,” she admits.  Today, with help from YouTube and encouragement from staff, she has harvested bell peppers, tomatoes, leeks, and basil.

Even the small comforts carry weight.  Her number one favorite thing about Grandma’s House of Hope?  The walk-in shower. 

“People might think, oh, what a trivial thing, but it is a big difference for me.”

Looking Ahead

As her one-year anniversary approaches, Donna is preparing for permanent housing and plans to carry her daily rhythm with her: “Get up and get your coffee and then get going.”

Without Grandma’s House of Hope, she believes she’d be in a warehouse shelter with 60 people and no walls, or worse, on the street.  Instead, she’s found a place that, in her words, is about more than a roof: 

“The goal is always to get you to a better place... preparing you mentally and physically for your eventual housing.”

You Can Help Someone Take Her Next Step

Donna knows exactly what keeps this work going.

“There’s a lot of money needed to provide the service that you’re providing at the level that you’re providing,” she says.

One in four people we serve is a senior. Many arrive like Donna did: worn down, in pain, and unsure what they’re still capable of. Your gift gives them a safe home, a caring case manager, and the daily support to discover they can do more than they ever imagined.

Seven steps became fifteen. Fifteen became freedom. Help the next senior take that first step.