Success Stories

John

John Soto was born and raised in Phoenix Arizona, John had a difficult childhood after his biological mother left him and his two sisters under his father’s care. The client’s father was in the military and John spent his life on military bases. John was in charge of taking care of his two sisters when he was young without the supervision of his father. John felt too much pressure and was involved in property damage and robbery at a very young age. John had difficulties completing his high school until he was involved in probation and was able to get his GED at the juvenile detention center.

After years passed client met with his mother and who was not a good influence for him since she allowed him to use drugs by the age of 15 years old. After obtaining his GED John was able to obtain a job which later ended up losing due to inappropriate behavior at work. At some point John was housed but lost his housing due to his felonies, client was living at different areas like garages and any places he was able to stay at. John then met a friend in Yuma AZ and mutually help each other to overcome homelessness and substance abuse.

John suffered an accident when stepping a gun and accidentally shot himself by his right leg. John suffered from a broken femur, after 90 days he was released from a nursing center, not in good terms. John was living in his car with his friend and was actively using Meth, during this time John denied the help of services until he opened up himself and allowed others to help him. John reported that now that he is housed he would like to be enrolled in occupational therapy, wants to clear his mind, stop smoking and continue healing his gunshot and taking his medications. John believes that he is capable of taking care of himself and focusing on himself now that he has an apartment.

Jackie

A single mom of a 6-month-old infant, 24-year-old Jackie B., entered into homelessness after a life spent being passed around from home to home, and ending up in the foster care system at age 15. Jackie recalls living in more than 20 homes and 2 group homes between the ages of 15 and 18, when she aged out of the juvenile system. She entered into the Young Adult Program administered through Arizona Department of Child Safety and was given housing, nutrition assistance, and a $750 monthly stipend that decreased every 6 months until she turned 21.

It was during this period of her life that she began using illegal substances. At 21, Jackie had her first run-in with the law when she was arrested for shoplifting and drug paraphilia. She was placed on probation at 22. This was the beginning of a downward spiral in an already chaotic life. She lost her housing, along with all her belongings. She moved in with her dealer for a brief period, but that was short lived and she ended up on the streets. After a period of time living on the streets, Jackie was placed on the housing waitlist, and would wait 6- months entering into Achieve Housing.

At 23, Jackie, now free of drugs, and with a passion to succeed, she gained employment as a contract worker doing document shredding and computer dismantling for Achieve Enterprise Services. In May 2020, Jackie received the news that she was pregnant. Jackie never missed an appointment during her pregnancy, and gave birth in December 2020. In March 2020, Jackie completed her Peer Support Specialist training with TLC Recovery (TLCR), where she continues to grow and help others. With her new income Jackie was now on the journey of becoming self-sufficient. In April 2020 Jackie exited Achieve’s housing program.

Thomas

Thomas P., a 58-year-old ARMY veteran, was released in November 2020 into homelessness in Yuma
after a 3,650-day prison sentence. Having no friends, family, or means of supporting himself M. P spent
two months living on the streets at Heritage Park, a gathering spot for many of Yuma’s homeless.

Needing medication Mr. P contacted Community Health Associates (CHA) and National Community
Health Partners (NCHP) who were able to get him signed up with AHCCCS. After two months of being unhoused Mr. P was contacted by Achieve Human Services Housing Department and given a 10-day hotel voucher.

It was during this period of time that Mr. P’s housing voucher was approved and he was shown 2 available units, choosing one that had close access to a bus line and several markets. After some negotiating with the property manager, Achieves Housing Supervisor was able to get utilities included within the price range of the voucher. Mr. P stated that his experience with those at CHA, NCHP, and Achieve “has been nothing short of a miracle”. The assistance he has received has renewed his faith in humanity. “Wonderful, glorious, spectacular”, words Mr. P used to describe the individuals that have given him a home. And hope.

Bonnie

Bonnie Arizona came to Housing in 2013. She was homeless with her daughter and just got out of a very abusive relationship (Stockholm Syndrome). She was assigned the apartments at LNR. At this time she was a “functioning” meth addict which was her drug of choice. She used it on a daily basis and had a lot of drama. She became involved in another abusive relationship and things got worse with her addiction. She had her daughter to take care of and this was her priority. In 2014 she had OD and blacked out and had no clue where she was. She was found in an alley and taken to the hospital. She tried other programs and they did not seem to help her. She was very defiant. Her daughter was a teenager and started following in her footsteps and she decided to stop for good. There was a lot of drama and issues. The client ended up having the police called. The client was given a choice to move to the community to get her out of her negative environment and hopefully away from the drugs.

She moved to the community in 2016 and tried to stay clean and sober. Client started attending all housing functions, group trips etc.. Clients last use date was May 19th 2016. Her first Clean sober date is May 20th 2016. She also attended NA meetings with her CM for the first 2 months She followed the book and eventually felt comfortable going on her own. The Client’s daughter graduated from AZTEC High School in June of 2016. (I do still have the announcement with her daughter’s Pic). Her daughter became pregnant and even more drama started however the client did remain clean and sober. Client called numbers and utilized her support systems. Her daughter had the baby and suffered from severe postpartum depression. The client took care of her granddaughter and daughter. Client eventually got her daughter enrolled in the Job Corps and the daughter moved to Phoenix. The daughter did give temporary custody of her granddaughter to the client and the client has remained clean and sober. The grandchild has been diagnosed with Beckers Syndrome (a type of Autism) and the client has successfully learned how to care for her granddaughter. The client stated she would have never done these things without the help and support of her housing and Achieve. May 20 2021 Client has been 5 years clean and sober. At times she has had a hard time, but her motivation is not losing her housing and taking care of her granddaughter.

Mary

Mary Olson was previously living in California, the reason why she moved from California to Yuma AZ was because she wanted to live with one of her granddaughters. When Mary arrived to Yuma AZ her granddaughters moved out of the state without letting her know. Mary reported that her depression and anxiety started when she got married and became a mother. The client didn’t want to talk about her husband and past life because it triggered her, Mary reported that talking about her past would lead her to a crisis situation. Mary Olson Mary Olson completed an Intake Assessment and joined the Achieve Human Services housing program on 2-4-16. She received housing through Achieve and maintained her apartment in a positive and clean manner. Mary also made friends with her neighbors and lived independently. The client reported having been living independently for 16 years. The client completed the 8th grade and took some college classes at AWC.

Mary is disabled and not able to work, she also states that the medications she has been prescribed have helped her maintain and manage symptoms of anxiety and depression. Mary had heart surgery 3 years ago, broke her hip a little over 2 years ago been challenged with medical conditions such as difficulty walking and being limited in activity levels. Mary reports osteoporosis and arthritis and tries to manage chronic pain. The client is a member of a church and did engage in attending church services until the pandemic and now communicates with members over the phone who sometimes bring this client food and help the client with errands. Mary reported that now she will be able to get more services from her health home now that she has stable housing. Her goal in her service plan was to find permanent housing from HUD. The client achieved this goal and moved into a lovely two-bedroom apartment that had been renovated. Mary donated some of her furnishings and clothing to Goodwill and moved into her apartment.