Dorothy's Journey

A Second Chance

"I had no hope: I thought I was going to die out there on the streets. My biggest fear was that something really bad was going to happen to me, and nobody would ever find me," said Dorothy Edwards, who was one of twenty homeless people to be housed under a housing first approach. "I never in my wildest dreams ever imagined I'd be homeless," she said. "We had a built-in pool, waterfall, pool table, huge house. My parents cared about my grades."

Long before Dorothy sought assistance she built herself a makeshift tent home along a freeway Here s

The despair Dorothy felt contrasted with her middleclass upbringing I never in my wildest dreams eve

Dorothys leadership abilities were apparent even in the worst of times She was frequently visited by

Dorothy comes out of her secluded compound during one of her many trips to Target which is close by

Dorothy gives her case worker Shawn Morrissey of Housing Works a hug inside her compound Morrissey w

Dorothy waters her collection of cacti and succulents on her porch This is a new life for me how I a

Dorothy receives her new set of teeth in Dentist Mary ChessAbelsons office Dorothy said she avoided

After turning her life around and kicking her 40-year drug habit Dorothy Edwards works in permanent supportive housing as an enrichment services coordinator. She's mastered public speaking to tell her story and lobby against homelessness and support for housing. As a Corporation for Supportive Housing board member she oversees the distribution of millions in loans for supportive housing while traveling the country.

Dorothy's Clients in Permanent Supportive Housing

Dorothy in Her Own Words