Kristine’s Story at Dorothy Day Shelter
Kristine’s Story at Dorothy Day Place
Kristine worked as a nurse her entire adult life. While she’s done pretty much every kind of nursing, caring for newborns was always her favorite. She had a successful career that allowed her to raise children, travel, and feel fulfilled.
But in 2020, Kristine’s life turned upside down when her husband died unexpectedly. She was 54 years old at the time, and the loss of her life partner, “was almost too much to bear,” she said. Aside from dealing with her own grief, Kristine suddenly had to also navigate life with one source of income.
That same year, Kristine suffered a major medical crisis of her own and was unable to work. The going got even tougher, Kristine said, “and at the end of the day you’re not left with a whole lot of choices.” She drained her retirement savings and sold all her valuables, but continued struggling to make ends meet. And on December 20th of 2023, Kristine’s financial hardships caused her to lose her housing.
Safe in Shelter at Dorothy Day Place
“I had never felt more disposable in my life,” Kristine stated, “it began feeling like I was just a waste of resources.” When Kristine found shelter at Catholic Charities Dorothy Day Place in St. Paul, she began feeling seen again. “People wanted to help me . . . I was motivated to keep going,” she said.
At Dorothy Day Place’s shelter, Kristine was finally able to let her guard down. “It had been a long few years,” said Kristine, “but there I was safe, I was warm, I was fed — if you get down to it, what else do you really need?”
Beyond access to necessities like showers, laundry, mail, and a place to sleep, Kristine also found resources that helped her move forward. She was connected with a psychotherapist and got a cell phone for the first time in months.
Working Toward New Goals
“I was so grateful to have opportunities again,” Kristine said, “I had my own things, I had people to help me, and I started to meet people that I felt like I could laugh with again.” Kristine spent her evenings in the women’s shelter and walked across the street to the day center for meals and services. Her goal was to move into housing upstairs.
“I couldn’t wait to have my own room again, to be able to cook in my own kitchen, and just to have a space of my own,” explained Kristine. “I’m 58 years old, but I knew I could persevere.”
“Two years in a row I spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and my birthday on the streets.”
A Home of Her Own
One day that March, Kristine’s new caseworker Jenae introduced herself and told Kristine that she had a lead on housing. Kristine was moved into her own apartment three weeks from that day.
“Two years in a row I spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and my birthday on the streets,” explained Kristine. “When Jenae told me there was an apartment for me here, I couldn’t believe it.”
Since then, Kristine has worked hard to make her apartment feel like home; she has meticulously decorated, grown a collection of houseplants, and for the first time in years, will decorate for the holidays.
