Jason McCoy has been through hell in the past few years. After a roommate kicked him out, he had medical issues that repeatedly put him in the hospital.
“They've taken a toe, they've taken my gallbladder, I've had double pneumonia twice. That's just this year and six months,” he said.
But now that he’s been in his apartment for a month, Jason said his health is on the mend.
“As far as how I feel, my appearance and everything: a lot of the wrinkles on my face have gone. They're gone in a month from not stressing and eating garbage," he said.
Jason was on and off the streets for about 18 months, but others at Good Shepherd Center's The Sparrow have been homeless for years. Kaitlyn Mattox is the director of homeless services for Good Shepherd Center, and said for a lot of residents, it can be a real adjustment to move out of a camp or congregate shelter and into their own apartment.
"They might have had a loss of self-worth, and maybe feeling like they don't deserve to have a roof over their head, and that is something that takes time for our brains to readjust into a feeling of safety and security being able to lock your door and know that that is your space takes time," he said.
Jason said some of his neighbors do seem like they’re struggling, but he’s just happy. And as a longtime chef, he can’t stop talking about how amazing it is to have his own kitchen again.
“The last thing I cooked was stewed apples, and that was yesterday," he said. "I got two bags of apples, and I didn't want them to go to waste, so I peeled them, and I stewed them, and then I ate them."
He’s working on stocking his pantry with seasonings, oils, and vinegars so he can cook all his favorite dishes. All his ingredients are organized in perfect rows on the counter and in the pantry.
Jason had a lot of support getting here from Christine and Tony Perez of the Living Hope Day Center. They visited him at his new apartment and were grinning, ear to ear.
“This place is phenomenal, and I love the dignity that Good Shepherd has done by providing brand new furniture and all the things,” Christine said. She's seen a lot of Day Center regulars move into the complex. "I just the love what they have created here, the library, the community center, the washer and dryer. It's just been such a joy to watch our friends get off the streets.”
Those residents get a lot of services on site, too. Mattox said there are two on-site case managers for the 32 residents in the building.
"They are there to meet each person's needs with where they're at and their plan to set some goals and reintegrate into what their new life looks like at their new apartment complex," she said.
Those goals vary, from getting connected to a doctor to managing medical needs, to reconnecting with long-lost family or getting a job with the goal of buying a car. And case managers do more than meetings in an office, Mattox said.
"Those case managers are there to walk the walk with each person, so maybe that is a ride to a medical appointment, and that's a great opportunity to have a conversation around how we're feeling today, that could be going into a person's apartment and helping do the dishes together and learning those skills together," she said.
Regardless of their goals, tenants can have security in the knowledge that this home is permanent. The rent is 30% of their income. And even if they have zero income, the $50 minimum can be waived with a bit of volunteer work to keep the apartment building running.
As for Jason, he plans to celebrate this month, now that he’s had time to settle in. He has bowls of tomatoes, onions, and avocados on the counter, ready to host a few friends.
“I bought some more vegetables. I'm having company this weekend. We do a big Mexican night,” he explained. He’s inviting friends and neighbors – many of whom he’s known for quite some time out on the streets. If our community could build a few more buildings like the Sparrow, he said, there wouldn’t be more than ten people living in the streets anymore. At the last Point in Time count, there were 153 chronically homeless people in the Wilmington area. The Sparrow permanently housed 21% of that number.
