Society of Saint Vincent de Paul North Idaho
St. Vincent de Paul and I
By Terry Misso
In October 1995, I moved myself and my 4 ½ year old son from Orofino to Coeur d’Alene, leaving a bad relationship with my son’s father who was a physically and mentally abusive alcoholic. After a temporary stay in the basement of a cousin’s house, we were accepted and moved into St. Vincent de Paul’s Transitional Housing Center.
I had never been homeless before and didn’t know what to expect. But I found it was very nice and clean. We had our own room, which was like a studio apartment with its own kitchen and bathroom! And, while living there we felt very safe. There were many activities for children. My son not only was comfortable living there, but actually thrived. He really enjoyed the weekly “Art on the Edge” classes. I even still have some of his art he produced there in my home now. He was also able to participate in outside activities such as skating and swimming at the water park.
During my fifteen month stay, I was able to get my life back on track. I attended the
weekly life skills and parenting classes, I received counseling, and even went back and completed school. Then, I received my Idaho Housing voucher and we moved into a duplex that I rented for two years. After that I rented another apartment for 5 years before being able to buy my own home through Idaho Housing in 2004.
Staying at St. Vincent de Paul’s Transitional Housing gave me the support and stability
to recover from an abusive lifestyle. I was able to help myself improve our living standard and, even more importantly, to recover my self-esteem and confidence.
Transitional Housing was just what we needed at the time. It coupled support and caring while allowing me just enough independence until I was ready for more. Even after leaving Transitional Housing I kept in touch. The employees there were more like friends than case workers and were always interested in my life updates. During one of these talks I found out about St. Vincent’s job counseling. I met with the job counselor several
times and when a job opened up in their social services office they hired me! In July 2006, I will have been working here five years and I love it! This job allows me to help people with their needs. It is very satisfying and my son is proud of me, too. Even now, the employees are more like friends than co-workers.