Welcome Home, Louisa!
KCB had the amazing privilege of housing a special neighbor in July. Louisa* has been a long time neighbor at KCB. She moved from the midwest back in 2015 with her husband, but lost him shortly after. Without his income to help her sustain housing, she became homeless. She is wheelchair bound and has been a double amputee since her teens, but Louisa is a fighter and through many obstacles has held onto hope.
Louisa met the KCB outreach team back in 2017 on the streets in Bellflower. She was vulnerable and upset, but interested in looking for housing and finding a place to call home. Even for this vulnerable single woman, the search for a housing resource would be long and difficult. Over time she often felt tired and wanted to give up, but the KCB case managers would encourage her and try to give her the hope to continue searching. With the limitations of a fixed income, KCB was unable to house her in any local units.
Louisa faced multiple health crises and difficult situations while being on the street during the housing search process. Along the way she also had a few close friends to help her. One being a gas station attendant who always let Louisa charge her phone and offered her words of kindness.
In 2018 Louisa had the opportunity to apply and receive a county voucher, but even with this resource it was near impossible to find a landlord who would work with her and a unit that would meet her disability needs. After lots of advocacy from her case manager and through collaboration with DHS, the client was matched to a unit in LA in May 2020. This unit was brand new and ADA compliant, a dream come true, even the counter tops were low enough to reach her level. When Louisa did the walk through of the unit, she was in tears, overwhelmed and excited that a unit would be so perfectly fitted for her and that after more than five years of being on the street she would have a place to call home.
After the walk through the reality was that there was still paperwork to be done and she had to wait for final approval to sign the lease and move in, this could be weeks. Fortunately Louisa also received help from the New Hope Shelter in Bellflower and was able to stay there in the weeks before her move in. New Hope staff accommodated her needs and saw her out with a cake and sweet goodbye, taking photos and wishing her well. New Hope even helped transport Louisa and her belongings to her new unit, including a care package that they made for her. In early July Louisa was finally able to sign the lease and get her new house keys. She is now transitioning and re-learning what it means to have a home again, but she is excited for the future.
*Our neighbor is referred to as “Louisa” for anonymity and protection of her privacy.
If you or someone you know is currently experiencing homelessness or is at risk of homelessness, view our resources page here to learn more about the services offered by KCB and our partner organizations.