To start life over again takes courage – Julia Greeley-style courage!
Julia Greeley suffered the ultimate, cruel catastrophe of being born into slavery. But once she was free, she resolved to rebuild her life with meaning and purpose.
To understand the courage needed for today’s woman to start over again takes someone with the heart and experience of Gabby Dowdy, Program Director for the Julia Greeley Home. For the past decade, Gabby has worked professionally in the social services field, beginning with an emphasis on assisting victims of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and sex trafficking.
Today, Gabby works with persons facing every kind of trauma and loss, including homelessness, and is a court advocate for women who need help navigating the legal system. The Julia Greeley Home is blessed to have Gabby’s Christ-centered services in partnership with Shannon’s Hope, which serves women pregnant or with children.
“Every person is one of God’s children. It’s our job to meet them where they are, and then to prayerfully consider whether we can serve them in a higher capacity.” – Gabby Dowdy, Program Director
So, what exactly do we do at the Julia Greeley Home? Here’s a little Q & A:
Are you a homeless shelter?
No. We are a faith-based, family-style, Christ-centered residence which can serve a half-dozen women at a time. Each woman who joins us (“Julia’s guest”) is given a personal, goal-oriented program designed specifically to develop her own brand of self-sufficiency. With guidance from our program director and staff support, each woman finds her own way to move past trauma to leave homelessness behind — whether it’s a good job; stable housing; reunion with family or loved ones; it’s up to her!
How do you find Julia’s guests?
We partner with public and private referral agencies throughout Colorado. Women also apply at our website juliagreeleyhome.org and find us through private and public platforms, churches, homeless programs, etc.
What happens after applying?
As director of the Julia Greeley Home, I begin the process by reviewing the applications that come in on our phone line 720.460.0860, or by application on our website. Our first conversation may take an hour, or we may mutually discover, quickly, that Julia’s isn’t a good fit.
What’s “a good fit’ look like?
A woman must be clean and sober from alcohol and drugs for more than 30 days. We do random drug testing.
We are a family-style residence, so although she isn’t required to belong to our Catholic faith, she must agree to abide by our traditional Christian values; willing to live in harmony with others, join in cooking, cleaning (as if in her own home), and share a bedroom with another guest.
We have mandatory classes several nights a week to help a woman broaden her skill sets (e.g., in budgeting, job seeking, managing family matters, finding faith and encouragement in God.)
Our guests must also understand and respect that we are pro life, chaste, sober-living, and we encourage daily prayer and reflection.
In short, we operate like a Christ-centered family home, with structure and rules, but always living in a spirit of love and support for each person.
Does the screening end there?
No. We want everyone (not just our guests, but our on-site staff, too) to be safe. Besides the first screening test, we require a mental health assessment that a woman is not a danger to herself or others and an OK from a health care professional that she’s free of communicable diseases. (We suggest resources for accomplishing these requirements.) We also conduct a criminal background check to eliminate anyone who has a history of violence, theft, or defrauding others.
Then what happens?
Gabby Dowdy and I arrange a three-way phone conversation to get to know the applicant better. What circumstances have brought her to us? What are her goals to reach self-sufficiency? We explain there is a 30-day probation period to make sure we all agree this is a good fit. After that grace period, we require a $330/month program fee. This helps pay for the program and underscores that she’s personally invested in her own future.
If all agree, the program begins:
To focus on the future and build meaningful goals, a stable, daily life and structure are essential. Each guest must be out of bed at 8 a.m., dressed, presentable, and having breakfast at 9 and ready to tackle the day at 10. Support staff is available every day. Each guest meets regularly with Gabby via video, phone, or in person.
Gabby opens each conversation with prayer, encouraging hope in Jesus Christ. Together, she and Julia’s guest set goals aimed at securing her future independence. To start, they use tools for finding work; applying for housing; securing eligible government support (e.g., health care, food stamps), navigating court systems, etc.
Just as important – Each of us is available to listen to a woman’s needs, to understand what brought her to us. We try to discern how to help her complete unfinished emotional business with prayer, offering Julia’s life story as inspiration, along with practical help, like agency referrals for counseling, addiction issues, family estrangements – helping to clear away whatever is blocking her path forward.
Like Julia, who knocked on doors with food, clothing and ready prayers, we open our door to offer practical resources, along with God’s love.
