Janine's Success Story for Housing
Janine’s Success Story for Housing
Written by Self-Advocate Coordinator, Kellie Hartigan
When Janine first came to CT in July 2020 and was looking for housing, she faced hurdles right from the start. First and foremost, she did not have access to her Social Security money. This block forced her to look elsewhere for financial support to get on her feet. Janine, along with the help of her guardians, was able to get a grant of $2,000 from a local charitable organization in New York. She then sent in an application to WAIM (Windham Area Interfaith Ministry) in Willimantic that provided her with the first month’s rent for an apartment.
Once she knew she had some financial support, Janine’s next challenge was to find a rent that would suit her. My husband Binn and I were just finalizing the purchase of our home. Low and behold it had an apartment underneath available at the exact same time. Janine then needed to get control of her Social Security. This took a lot of research as she didn’t know how to access the funds. The important thing to note is it took a lot of phone calls, document gathering, and some assistance from others, so don’t be afraid to ask for help.
A lot of the agencies you deal with in this type of move, which for Jeanine included a relocation to another state, have different protocols, thus making getting
established with services a process. Janine accepted that the process could be slow, and perseverance was a key component to getting through the process. For example, she had to produce large amounts of paperwork, documentation, and proof of all kinds of things like addresses, bank statements, etc. None of the agencies would do any of the work so she took it on herself and pushed through. With the help of her guardians and Janine’s hard work and dedication, she was able to obtain all the needed documents to succeed with this move. The moral of the story is to be persistent and keep your financial information organized because you never know when you will need it!
Now, Janine is thriving in her 2-bedroom apartment downstairs in our house and has no plan on going anywhere anytime soon. She has painted, decorated, and made it a home. Janine wants everyone to know, no matter what the challenges you face, don’t give up because there are apartments out there for everyone!
Janine is pictured below with Binn and Kellie Hartigan.
