Camille
Camille arrived at the Julia Greeley Home in 2016 without much hope. She figured she had reached the end of her happy and productive life.
The once-busy and talented office manager had recently lost her home following a firestorm of even greater losses — the deaths of four beloved family members, her son, her mother, a sister, and a brother-in-law.
She was already battling the pain of arthritis and fibromyalgia, and the pile-on of physical and emotional pressures was becoming unbearable. The capable office manager could no longer work or pay her mortgage.
“There I was, 54 years old, unemployed, almost immobilized with pain, and still emotionally devastated over the loss of my son, and so many other people I loved!” Camille recalled. “When I lost my financial support, it wasn’t long before I lost my home, too. I really didn’t know what I was going to do.”
She had run out of places to stay, and terrified because her next stop was an overnight shelter.
Just in time, a former work colleague called to say a friend of his mother’s knew of a residential home for women that might be able to help.
“And that’s how I ended up at the Julia Greeley Home,” Camille says, with a smile. “What I thought was the end was the beginning.”
In the safety and security of Julia’s, Camille was able to step back from the stress and instability of unemployment and impending homelessness: “The safety and stability I found here, plus the love of the staff, was something I hadn’t really gotten anywhere else. It gave me time to see things more clearly.”
Camille’s natural managerial skills came back. Her health improved. After completing the Julia Greeley program, Camille accepted a managerial position with Julia’s and stayed for more than a year. Today she works and lives independently, and has the time and good health to enjoy her grandkids, too.
She also has advice for women in desperate circumstances:
“Today, I tell other women undergoing similar struggles that they need to focus on themselves and remember that they are valuable, worthwhile human beings. There is always somebody there to help. They only have to look and ask — and not be afraid to ask. And they need to know they are going to be okay.”