From a Tent to a Home

We are so excited to share a success story with one of our night stay guests with all of you!

One of our service coordinators was on the phones at the office when we received a desperate call for shelter. The client expressed that she was staying in a tent with a previous partner whom she had a protective order against. Not only was she worried for her safety, she was worried for her sanity staying outside in freezing temperatures.

Venturing from Virginia Beach, she asked for information on CAPS night stay program because she could not find another shelter that had any available spots. We gave her our night stay program details, and she arrived in the middle of the cold winter season. She was given a hot meal, a warm place to stay, along with breakfast and lunch for the next day.

As she went through our CAPS night stay program for two weeks, she was able to land a full-time job. A lot of the homeless population spend any income on hotels. When a homeless guest is able to stay in shelter, it is a great mental and financial relief for them.

Thankfully, the night stay program allows our guests to have a place to stay while our staff and volunteers encourage them to look for affordable housing and the services needed for their overall health. We love to see our guests seize this opportunity for their future as CAPS can only house them for a short period of time. Because this client got a full-time job, our service coordinators were able to help provide the assistance she needed to get into a room with affordable rent, only a few minutes away from her new job.

CAPS has now been able to shelter her for a short period, and stabilize her with permanent housing by providing the financial needs to move in. After moving into her home, this client came into the office to receive some kitchen donations, and told us that she was planning on going to Bible study at one of the night stay host churches.

Our prayer for each of our night stay clients is not only to become stabilized with permanent housing, but also find community and discipleship through the local church. This is truly a great story, and we ask that you pray for this client to stay on the path God has placed her on. We are so grateful for being able to partner with all of you to advance the kingdom as we know God cares deeply for each of our guests!