Thankful for a “Nice Roof” and More

At the last minute Dorothy canceled her first meeting with Calvary’s program director because she was scared. She said that even though she knew Calvary was a transitional housing program, she couldn’t stop thinking of a shelter, and everything that word can imply. She thought about DC General – a place that she often passed while riding the bus – and the difficult stories that some people had shared with her.

Dorothy eventually overcame her fears and sat down with the staff at Calvary. “It wasn’t what I expected,” she said. “It’s so clean and the atmosphere is very positive here. Even the chef and the volunteers are great!” Soon, she was moving into her room.

Dorothy has been living at Calvary for just a couple months, and she is already making progress toward some significant goals, like going to school to study administration and information technology. To help prepare herself for the program, she’s taking classes at Calvary like Math Skills, Money Smart and Decision Making.

In addition to taking classes, Dorothy has set a few other goals for herself. “I want to be a homeowner, and I want to have a career, not just a job,” she said.

Dorothy had a stable job for 10 years before she became unemployed. She is now working in retail and looking for a career through Calvary’s Step Up DC job placement program.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, Dorothy reflected on some of the things that she is thankful for. That list includes “having a nice roof over my head and a place that is clean and tidy.” Dorothy also said she is thankful for volunteers who make pancakes and waffles for women on the weekends.