ONCE HOMELESS, NOW HOUSED

New Pathways homeless program in Cambridge gives family hope.

It happened one day when Lisa and Tom Stoker were making supper. A Chisago County Sheriff's deputy knocked on the door and told them they had five days to vacate their home.
The news caught them completely by surprise.
And it came during the worst week of their lives.
Tom's dad had just died. Both their vehicles broke down. Lisa had lost the diamond in her wedding ring. And now they were losing the house.
"If you would have asked me if I thought I'd be out on the streets I'd tell you 'you're nuts,'" said Tom.
DOWN ON THEIR LUCK
The road leading up to the loss of their home had started in 2002. The Stokers had fallen behind on the mortgage payments on their mobile home in Wyoming. Their lender offered to refinance and tack on those late payments to the end of the loan. They were so glad to find a solution to the problem, neither Tom nor Lisa read the fine print.
It's a mistake they'll never make again.
According to the terms of the refinancing agreement, if the family was ever late again on a payment, the bank could take possession of their home. The legal stipulations regarding proper notice for a foreclosure and the ability of a homeowner to stay there six months during the redemption period before leaving no longer applied.
In 2005, Tom was taken off the job market by a vehicle accident. With two discs out in his neck and back, he wasn't able to return to work as a machinist. However, Lisa's job as a machinist paid the bills.
Two years later, Lisa found herself on the disability list. The rupture of cysts led to a hysterectomy. Not only was she out of work for four months, but her insurance coverage ran out.
The Stokers found themselves two months behind on mortgage payments.
And then came the knock on the door one October afternoon.
They never received a warning, just the news to get out.
STRUGGLING TO FIND A NEW PLACE
To begin with, Tom, Lisa and their two children who were still at home moved down the street to live with another daughter, her husband and two kids. "There were eight of us in a trailer," recalled Tom. It proved to be too many. "We were all starting to get on each other's nerves."
A friend caught wind of their trouble, and offered to sell them a mobile home at Castle Towers in East Bethel. Because it had sat empty, he asked that Tom fix the pipes that had frozen, get the water going, and pay the lot fees. The Stokers could pay him the $4,000 for the trailer itself when they had the money. Their 13-year-old daughter Savannah and 16-year-old daughter Nicole switched schools, and Tom, along with some buddies, made the necessary repairs.
They were there two months when the caretaker came up one day and asked what they were doing there. He requested that the Stokers fill out an application form – something Tom hadn't done in 20 years.
A mistake he made 15 years previously came to light, and they were kicked out of the mobile home park. Tom had purchased a "hot" car and been convicted of a felony.
Desperate, the family wasn't sure what to do next. They couldn't go back to their daughter's place, and didn't have other options. While online one night, Lisa stumbled upon information about New Pathways, a homeless program based in Cambridge.
They decided to drive up and check the place out. Tom admitted that they expected the kind of shelter you'd find in the Twin Cities. "We were all thinking we'd just jump back in the truck and leave," he noted.
Instead, the family felt welcomed by the staff members at New Pathways. They had found a place to stay.
PEOPLE HELP THEM THROUGH THE DARK DAYS
At New Pathways, families sleep at night in various churches. There are 13 church and a group of people in the program, which host the families one week. They provide sleeping arrangements and an evening meal. Depending on the size of the church, families may stay in a private room; other times, curtains separate them from each other.
The program can accommodate 24 family members at one time. (A family is defined as an adult with children.)
It took awhile for the Stokers to get used to shuffling between churches every week. And it was hard living out of suitcases and duffle bags.
At first, they admitted they were a bit nervous about being in a church, and paid attention to minding their Ps and Qs. But they soon relaxed. The volunteers at each church were open and friendly.
Looking back, Tom especially points to those volunteers as being the highlight of the experience. "We met great people every night," he said. "Everyone was trying to help in one way or another." Program participants and the volunteers would play cards and board games. They'd work on puzzles. They'd talk about life.
One night at Long Lake Lutheran, they sat up and played cribbage all night long.
The food was delicious – although there was one stretch where they ate pizza four nights in a row. The rest of the time, the meals were so good, Tom would head back to the kitchen and beg for recipes. He put on 20 pounds.
Leaving each church at the end of the week became difficult.
LIFE AT THE SHELTER
After nights spent in the church, Tom and Lisa would drop their daughters off at school. Then they'd head to the New Pathways day center in downtown Cambridge. The day center is stocked with information on jobs and housing vacancies.
It was there they'd take showers, signing up for specific time slots. They were also responsible for chores to keep the place clean and picked up.
Tom and Lisa focused on finding a place to live. Again, Tom's felony kept cropping up. Over a three-month period, the Stokers sent out 300 housing applications. Each was denied.
When they felt discouraged, the couple would head into the office of a New Pathways staff person, typically Mary Westlund's. When they walked out, their spirits were always lighter.
"They don't belittle you. They make you feel right at home," said Tom.
"I love that place," added Savannah.
The couple worked on completing the one-week-long Rentwise program. They learned about dealing with management and caretakers, how to maintain a property, and to always read the fine print. Their certificate of completion was included with their rental applications.
Tom also worked to expunge his criminal record, to no avail.
Families may participate in the New Pathways program for three months. As the end of their stay ticked closer, the Stokers began asking themselves if they'd have to divorce so that Lisa and the girls could find housing without the blemish of Tom's record.
The staff at New Pathways began using all their connections to find a place for the Stokers.
Finally, the manager of an apartment complex in Sandstone was swayed by a letter Mary wrote. She offered them a place with reduced rent.
"We were so excited," noted Lisa.
"We shot up there. I was in a huge hurry to get us regrouped, to get our family back together again," noted Tom.
Once there, they realized all they had with them were duffle bags full of clothes. They had no sheets. No beds. No dishes. No towels.
They used the tax refund they had received to pay three months worth of rent and their damage deposit. And then they headed to the Hinckley casino for a hot bath and to plan their next step.
The girls hit the arcade, and Tom and Lisa decided they could finally splurge a little. They each took $100 to try their luck at the slot machines. Unbelievably, it seemed their luck had finally changed.
They left $1,800 richer. It was enough to buy a kitchen table, chairs and a few necessities so they could move into their new home.
BACK HOME, AT LAST
Seven months later, the Stokers are still getting settled. They moved from the first apartment to a ground-floor one which is easier for Tom to access. Some of the bigger furniture items, such as their entertainment center, which they kept, is still in storage because it's been difficult to gather a group to help them move it in.
Savannah and Nicole are still making friends at their fourth school in one year.
Lisa got a job at the Family Dollar store in Sandstone, and although she missed a month of work due to complications from her diabetes, she has recently been promoted to manager. Tom is looking for a job that doesn't require repetitive work because of his spinal injuries.
Lisa and Tom both miss the woodworking shop they had in Wyoming. It's hard to visit their daughter and see their old home just down the street.
What they all miss the most is the community they had in Wyoming, their family and friends. Tom no longer has visitors dropping by their place for a cup of coffee and a chat. They're an hour drive from either Cambridge or Wyoming. There's not a whole lot to do in Sandstone, they noted.
"That's something that hit us when we moved up here. Boy, did we lose a big circle of security," said Tom. "Up here, its just us."
But for now, being together in their own home is enough.

PROGRAMS FOR THE HOMELESS
About New Pathways and the Interfaith Hospitality Network:

• Since its inception in 2000, 301 families have been helped. In 2007, 34 families were assisted by New Pathways, including the Stokers.

• How it works: Families spend their evenings at area churches in one-week increments. Volunteers also spend the night at the churches and provide an evening meal. During the day, participants head to a day center in Cambridge. There they have meals, do laundry, shower, train, and search for jobs and housing.

• There are two sites. The IHN site in Cambridge serves Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs and Pine Counties. The site in Brainerd serves Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, Todd and Wadena Counties.

• The local churches involved include: Cambridge Lutheran, Elim Baptist, Faith Lutheran, First Baptist, Grace Bible Fellowship, Long Lake Lutheran, New Hope Community, North Isanti Baptist, Oxlip Evangelical Free, Sts. Peter and Paul, Stanchfield Baptist, Trinity Lutheran and Cambridge United Methodist.


FOR MORE INFORMATION
CALL 763-691-0121
BROWSE www.newpathwaysmn.com
EMAIL infonpi@newpathwaysmn.com