Dear Team TIS,

My name is Maniya, and I was the first guest welcomed into TIS’ new singles’ shelter, Evelyn’s Place. 

Last fall, I moved to Salisbury from Baltimore, where I raised four children.  The city had become overwhelming, and I came to the Eastern Shore to find peace.  It wasn’t easy to leave.  I miss my children, but they understand; they want their mom to be well and whole and happy.  When I first arrived, I worked part-time while looking for positions in my field – I have a Masters in Social Work.  I now work for the Eastern Shore Mobile Crisis Team based in Easton. 

My housing situation got rocky in April.  I was in income-based housing, and was honest and forthcoming and told the landlord that my income had changed.  He wanted to raise my rent to an astronomical amount.  A few days later, I was on my way to work when I got a call that they were putting my belongings out on the street.  And that was the beginning of life just happening in succession – before I could breathe and regroup, something else was happening. 

On May 15^th, I was in an accident on the bridge from Easton to Cambridge and totaled my car.  After losing my room, I had moved in with a girl I met when I moved to Salisbury.  In early June, we got into a disagreement.  I didn’t think anything of it until I came home and she had locked me out and locked everything I owned in her car.  When even the Sheriff could not gain entry, I decided to let it all go and move on.  I went into survival mode – I had to find somewhere to stay.  My daughter helped me pay for a hotel room, and a coworker told me about Evelyn’s Place opening.

I knew that going back across the bridge wasn’t an option.  I’m not a quitter.  I felt like if I could make it to Easton, something was going to change.  I had this ridiculous amount of faith that if I could make it here, something would be different. I called Saturday and Sunday and spoke with the case manager Monday – the morning the shelter opened.  They don’t normally admit people immediately, but I explained my situation, and he scheduled an interview that day. 

Everybody’s been so welcoming and so helpful.  When I come here at night, I don’t feel like I’m going to a shelter.  I feel like I’m going home.  That’s important because feeling displaced knocks everything else off-kilter.  Knowing that I have somewhere to come, and people are smiling, and I can come down in the morning and have a cup of coffee in peace… Like I said, it makes me feel like I’m at home. 

Sometimes when you’re connected to something remotely, you don’t get to see the impact that it has on people.  You may be thinking, “I’ll write this check, and I know this is where my money’s going, but I don’t know exactly what it’s doing.”  Just know that your contribution, your connection, your input, your donation is making an impact on real people that have lives, who love and are loved, and who just want to be healthy, and that you’re aiding in that process.  It’s like you’re planting seeds and you’re watering them even if you’re not the gardener.  If you’re buying the seeds and paying the water bill, you’re contributing to the growth and development of the garden, and I think that’s something awesome. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart,