By Julie Loomis
This year has been quite the journey. It started really dismal. I was extremely sick and very depressed.
I ended 2024 in the hospital, very sick with influenza, and I started 2025 with pneumonia. Illnesses spread like wildfires in the shelter, so if your immune system is weakened, you’re sick all winter. I also have severe depression and felt like I was going to die here. After months of just lying in bed, I was finally sent to a mental hospital to work on my depression and anxiety.
I really liked this hospital; the staff was amazing and I was able to get on the right medication to pull me out of my depression. I had not been doing any art or writing stories. It’s like I’m missing a piece of myself when I’m unable to create. My creative side helps me get through each day as a homeless person.
When I started getting healthy, I was able to get back to painting and writing. Writing gives me a voice to tell my and other people’s stories. My photography lets me find beauty in a gray world. Walking in the park or down the street in springtime is uplifting, so I share it through my camera lens. My painting gives me peace, so I create peaceful scenes. I also started planting a garden at Interfaith when spring faded into summer.
Unfortunately, I lost a dear friend, Mike, who just made me smile. To cope with the loss, I just kept creating and waiting for housing.
One regular day in the shelter, when I turned the corner, there stood my son. I could hardly breathe and didn’t know how he came here. I realized he was at a job interview at the shelter. I just kept saying his name over and over. Suddenly, he was in my arms, and I was shaking. I told everyone I saw, “That’s my son,” as I took a drag of my cigarette with a trembling hand.
My firstborn and I had a lot of time to catch up since I hadn’t seen him in six years. And last we talked, I was not in the right state of mind and felt like I was walking on eggshells for a while. I hope this will be a new start for us.
As fall leaves scatter, my depression slowly creeps back. I have a great doctor, so I am sure we will figure it out. I miss my youngest son, Brandon, who lives with his father until I can get housing for us.
The year eventually became better when this last month, I finally got my housing voucher with the help of the Interfaith staff, especially the case manager, Maddy. She helped me get all the paperwork and application sent. Now, I wait to hear where I will land, so I can finally be back with Brandon in a two-bedroom apartment.
I will continue writing, painting and photography. I hope to build better relationships with my family and hang on to all my friends because I have met some incredible people here. Experiencing homelessness and going through Project Well Being at Interfaith has given me time to fix myself so I can create more lasting relationships, love myself and get artistic.