Finding Deeply Affordable Housing
Joshua’s Story
Joshua is the kind of person that you’d want as a neighbor. He’s friendly, respectful, and seems to know a little bit about everything. He is 34 years old now and has been through more than his fair share of challenges in life — including a stint in jail for something that happened when he was a younger man. About that time, Joshua said, “I knew that I was never going back. I knew that this was my opportunity to start over.”
Starting over with a criminal record is not easy, even if you’re young. Joshua secured a job at a restaurant as he exited jail but was experiencing homelessness at the time. He knew he needed to earn more money, but couch-hopping, sleeping in the Minneapolis skyways, and finding other places to spend the night made that extremely difficult. Still, Joshua found a second job at the Mall of America and saved every dollar he could.
The Importance of Deeply Affordable Housing
Shortly after finding a second job, Joshua heard about Catholic Charities Evergreen Residence in Minneapolis — a deeply affordable, low-barrier, permanent housing program for adults. Evergreen’s proximity to downtown Minneapolis and public transit, single room occupancy, and internet access stood out to him. Joshua applied for a unit and was accepted right away. “It felt like I had finally made it over a huge hurdle,” he said.
With affordable housing at Evergreen, Joshua was able to spend time in the computer lab refining his resume and looking for jobs that offered more regular hours. After a couple of weeks, he applied to work at a local pest control company and was hired. “The work-life balance is just perfect,” said Joshua, “they even provided a company truck for me and pay for the gas.”
A Permanent Place to Live
With a permanent place to call home, Joshua has been able to dedicate more time to his personal and professional development. He’s currently studying to become a licensed pest controller and recently registered an LLC under his name. Joshua has been working really hard and shared that, “new things and failure don’t scare me at all, I’ve found my oasis here and I’m going to figure things out.”
Outside of work, Joshua likes to spend his time doing music production and working events as a DJ — things that he can do again now that he has a place of his own and money to invest in equipment. “If you’re going through homelessness or other hard times, this is the place to go,” Joshua said, “Moving here allowed me to hit the reset button—it has helped me accomplish so much.”
“If you’re going through homelessness or other hard times, this is the place to go,” Joshua said, “Moving here allowed me to hit the reset button—it has helped me accomplish so much.”
