We sat down with Matthew Peterzen, a former guest at Catholic Charities’ Focus Forward shelter, to discuss how he found his way to Catholic Charities. Focus Forward is a program started in partnership with Ramsey County to provide extra help to those left behind during the pandemic — Catholic Charities staff noticed that some people weren’t finding their way out of emergency shelter, so we pivoted our service structure to meet the needs of our community. This is a story of how Matthew is looking at a brighter future with the help of Focus Forward:

Meet Matthew Peterzen

One year ago, Matthew Peterzen was released from Hennepin County Jail with nowhere to go.

Struggling with addiction, this had not been Matthew’s first time in jail—but this time he had no one to call, nowhere to stay for the night. He hopped on the light rail without knowing which direction it was headed and rode it all the way to Saint Paul, where some outreach workers connected him with a shelter bed.

 

 

“One Step Forward and Two Steps Back”

Over the next nine months, Matthew orbited the supportive services at Dorothy Day Campus, where he slowly got to know Case Manager Michael Kaup. Eating his meals indoors but frequently opting to sleep in his truck parked outside, Matthew describes that time as feeling like “groundhog day”. But, one day he noticed that his legs were extremely swollen.

“I ended up taking a bus down to HCMC, going to the emergency department,” Matthew remembers. There, he was devastated to hear that the edema in his legs was caused by congestive heart failure. At only 44 years old, drug use and homelessness had taken a harsh toll on his body. Still, Matthew explains, “no one is ready to hear that.”

While hospitalized for the next two months, his doctors added an additional diagnosis: schizophrenia. Matthew suspects that he may have unknowingly been experiencing symptoms for a long time, something that is all too common amongst people experiencing homelessness.

 

 

Finding Focus Forward

After being discharged from the hospital, Matthew returned to Dorothy Day Campus. There, Case Manager Michael Kaup referred him to Focus Forward, an enhanced shelter program that works to quickly connect people with housing once they’re ready to take the next step. While staying at Focus Forward, Matthew felt safe to get good sleep, eat regular hot meals, and work with a case manager to navigate supportive services that would help build a more stable life.

Now, Matthew is more than 90 days sober. He’s living in housing that supports his sobriety, spends time at an Addiction Health Center, and is doing everything he can to improve his health.

 

 

“I’m fairly certain that Focus Forward saved my life,” Matthew said, “I could focus more on what I needed to do, and I was getting sound sleep . . . you know, just all those things people need when they are looking for new opportunities.

I hope for the best and no longer want to expect the worst. I want to share my story because if people can understand somebody in my position, it gives me hope for the future.”