Imagine for a second being homeless in New York City. Garbage trucks rattling past where you sleep. The wet of dirt- and grit-covered snow in the winter seeping into your clothes. Into filthy blankets and rags never thick enough to keep the icy cold out.
Imagine having only a meager grab-bag of possessions to carry about with you everywhere you go. And not ever knowing where your next meal’s coming from. Or whether it’s better – safer – to carve out a little place for yourself on the sidewalk, or to chance your luck, instead, in some overcrowded homeless shelter in an unsafe part of town.
Well, Sheila Santiago doesn’t have to imagine. Like dozens of other Community Access tenants, before she had a home to call her own she didn’t have one at all.
“Off and on for about ten years,” says Sheila, “I was homeless, in and out of drop-in centers, and often on the sidewalk.” For Sheila, originally from Hawaii where her father served in the military, the prospect of a better future seemed every bit as distant as the Pacific Ocean beaches of her youth.
“On two different occasions,” Sheila recalls, “I woke up with a male trying to touch me in an improper manner, and both times I got really scared. Me being a female, I knew it really wasn’t safe.” But, she continues, “the worst part about being homeless was the feeling of how people look at you – how all the time they judge you.”
It was Community Access that finally made a difference. From within the shelter system, Sheila applied to be a tenant – and was, in "record time," successful. Her studio apartment is in our DeKalb Avenue building in Brooklyn, and she moved in just over a year ago. “It truly was a blessing,” she reflects, “I never had my own place before, and now I have one that’s very beautiful – every time I get on the subway I still get that excitement of having my keys in my hand and knowing that I’m going to my own home.”
As an added bonus, shortly after settling in as a new Community Access resident, Sheila also became a pet owner – through our Pet Access program, which promotes the benefits of pet ownership in the course of making it financially viable for individuals who might otherwise find it prohibitively expensive. Now, Sheila and Poochie, her trusty Chihuahua, are practically inseparable. “That program made a huge difference in my life,” says Sheila, “by helping to get me started. It got Poochie her coat, her leash, her bowl, everything....”
In return, Poochie, with his unmistakable heart-shaped tongue, has never stopped giving back. With the strength of Poochie’s companionship and love, Sheila is more than a leaseholder – she’s a friendly presence in her community and a valued neighbor, too. “I walk my dog round the neighborhood,” Sheila explains, “and meet people along the way. I used to have a lot of trust issues with people, but she really brings me out of that.” Moreover, as all pet owners will appreciate, Poochie can always be relied upon to ease any burden. “If I’m having a bad day, I open the door and she’s right there waiting for me. And if she sees me crying, and I pick her up, she’ll start licking the tears off my face.” Off the streets at last, they’re often tears of joy.