The Woonsocket Shelter – Anna’s Story

Anna never imagined she would end up this way, wandering in the woods, cold and scared, no place to go. Just weeks before she had a job, a home. But when the co-worker she relied on to get to work left, Anna was suddenly stranded, and eventually had to move out of her apartment. “I lost my ride, I lost my job,” she said, relaying the series of events that led to her becoming homeless.

For weeks, she had called the shelter, checking for openings. Then one desperate night, Anna contacted the shelter again. “She was crying, she told me she had no place to go,” said Benson Adenodi, the second shift Intake Worker who took Anna’s call for help that night. “She said we were her last hope.”

Benson knew he needed to connect with Anna, to help her understand she was not alone. Benson helped Anna think about her options. “He pulled me back to thinking again. He said I was going to be okay, and I believed him,” Anna said. “I felt like I’d known him forever. Benson was my lifeline. He is my friend. Without him, I would have been dead.”

Anna was able to find a safe place that night, and when she called the shelter in the morning there was an opening, as Benson had promised. “The staff never looked down on me. They helped me and treated me with respect,” Anna said. Staff connected Anna to FRCA’s Family Support Center and helped her go though job listings and tap other supports.

After several weeks, Anna was able to move into the women’s sober house. She keeps connected to the shelter staff, and they to her. “If I run out without shoes, I hear about it from Benson,” Anna said, laughing.

Anna wants to feel useful, productive. She assisted with FRCA’s coat donation and holiday toy drive, and rang the bell for the Salvation Army kettle campaign. “I’m always doing something,” she said. Anna previously worked as a CNA and hopes to return to similar work in the future.

As long as she remained homeless, Anna couldn’t begin to address her life situation. As she said, “I didn’t have a place to stay to get started again.”

The support Anna received helped her get back on the road to recovery. “The staff gave me my sanity back. I hated myself. Now I am on my feet again. They made me feel like I can do things. They got me to smile again.”

“The staff never looked down on me. They helped me and treated me with respect,” Anna said.

As long as she remained homeless, Anna couldn’t begin to address her life situation. As she said, “I didn’t have a place to stay to get started again.”