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LaShunda Cross learned from
her contacts in Chicago and hometown, Madison, Wisc., that Minnesota was a
good place to start over. "In the mid 1990s, I kept hearing that
Minneapolis was a place where you could find a job, and where there were
services to help to begin a new life," LaShunda recalled.
"When I lost my mom to cancer,
I felt like everything collapsed. My husband and I decided to leave
Madison and start over in Minnesota with our four-year-old son," she said.
When they arrived in
Minneapolis, they found a place to stay at a downtown shelter. Within a
few weeks, LaShunda's husband had found a job as an apartment building
caretaker, a position that included an apartment. Things were looking up.
Six months later, her husband was fired for disobeying orders. Two weeks
later, they were back in the shelter. And LaShunda was expecting another
child.
Enter LSS and the Transitional
Living Program. "I did not want my baby to be born in a shelter, so I
would agree to whatever rules they had," she said. "When I came for the
interview with my husband, I realized that these people were on my side --
that they wanted me to succeed, and I felt it in my heart."
The Transitional Housing
Program was providing the basics, but LaShunda's husband couldn't live
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Education
AND Personal Experience:
The Magic Combination
Even with 12
years of experience in the LSS Housing Services area,
Dawn Horgan is the first one to say that effective case
managers are often those who have been through the
client experience, just as Sarah Armwood and LaShunda
Cross have. "They are very sensitive to the situations
and services because they have experienced much of what
our single mom clients have," Dawn explained.
"Because of their first-hand experience as homeless
moms, we have been able to make program modifications
that we would never have thought of. You have to be on
the receiving end to judge whether or not the approach
is appropriate and respectful," she said.
"These
women stayed in touch with us over the years. We have
been honored to walk with them, and now we are honored
to consider them colleagues."
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rules. It was a difficult time for the family, she recalls, and he
finally left the family to return to Chicago.
LaShunda remembered her resolve "not to
become homeless again." With the help of LSS, she became part of a
two-year housing program called Phoenix. And with the help of the
Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), she returned to school at
the University of Minnesota.
There were hurdles to overcome
with MFIP and the University, but she pushed onward. She now has her B.A.
degree in Sociology and African Studies - and a job with LSS Housing
Services.
As she was finishing her
education, LaShunda felt she had to volunteer at LSS, to "give back" for
all the good that LSS people brought her when she was struggling. "Almost
immediately, I was hired as a temporary. And that led to a fulltime case
worker's job," she explained.
"Life's experience equipped me
for this job. I was born poor. I lived in a ghetto. But I wanted to
fulfill my parents' dream that I would have a better life than they had.
And that's what I have been working hard to do - to prove them right."
She wants to pass that same
idea on to her kids. "They are my strength. They are why I work so hard
when a barrier comes up."
So, is life better in
Minnesota, LaShunda? Her smile says it all.
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