“I told a friend of mine that I used to be like a whole quilt, every stitch all beautiful. Now I’m like a thread – my existence is hanging by a thread.”

Amie was living out of a hotel in Temecula when she learned about our Safe Parking Program from 2-1-1. She moved to the Balboa Avenue location of our Safe Parking Program with her daughter in late 2017.

“A part of me was like, well now you’re homeless. You’re really homeless. And if I say that I’m homeless, they’re gonna immediately find some reason. They’ll say, oh she must have been a drug addict or a felon. I’m not her. I’m a regular person.”

But then she found a community. Amie says the services provided at the lot – showers, housing navigators, financial assistance – made a huge difference in her efforts to get back on her feet.

“During homelessness you can feel extremely isolated from society. But we would be out there every night motivating each other as much as possible.”

In early 2018, she moved into a new apartment. She gets choked up thinking about that day no matter how much time has passed. No more restless nights in a cramped car. No more uncertainty. The entire place was hers.

“There’s no way I would have made it without JFS. I told my case manager that I found a home while experiencing homelessness.”