A Conversation with Nancy
Nancy* and her three children moved into Alpha House in April.She moved
out of Alpha House into a home in Ypsilanti during the firstpart of
August. We caught up with Nancy before she’d finishedunpacking.
What do you think about your new place?
Nancy: Oh, I love it. The bedrooms are huge.It has three bedrooms, a whole bath, a half bath, and a basement.I’mgetting some furniture from the Recycle Center, some donationsfrom volunteers. Somebody even drove a long way to bring mea washer and dryer.
How far away from your new home is the school where your childrenattend?
Nancy: Sam* is in the 1st first grade and Eric* is in 5th. They bothgo to the same school, different hallways. It’s a 10-minutewalk from our new place. Sandra* will be at the high school.
Looking back, what did you like about staying at Alpha House?
Nancy: You get a lot of help there. Mostly I liked the help theygave me planning my budget, and being able to save money. There’salways someone to talk to about problems.
Overall, do you think the staff at Alpha House were helpful?
Nancy: Yes, some more than others. Alan willpush you to get things done. He pushes your buttons to getyou motivated. Sometimes Lataniais there at 3:00 AM. When you need her, she’ll be there.I think Wraparound really helped me. [Wraparound is the programwhere a "team" meetswith the resident once a week to talk about their family’sgoals and future
plans.]
So what did you think about Family Wraparound?
Nancy: It helped out a lot. You can sit there in your group and youcan talk about your goals and what you want to do when youget out. You have a plan and it’s all written down. Youwork on it. You meet every week and you come up with new goals.
What came out of Family Wraparound for you?
Nancy: I got my car.
What kind of car?
Nancy: A ’94 Pontiac Sunbird. It runs like a baby. It’sgood on gas mileage, and I got a good deal.
Is there anything else that was really helpful to you at AlphaHouse?
Nancy: People helped me a lot when my youngestchild [Sam (5)] went into the hospital. He had an infection.He got high fevers. His bloodcount was high, and he ended up not being able to walk. Hewas in a lot of pain. He was in and out of the hospital forfour to sixweeks.
What kind of support did you get during Sam’sillness?
Nancy: Mostly help with transportation. Theylet me stay at the hospital as long as needed. The staff cameto visit. Sometimes the staffand volunteers looked out for the older kids while I was gone.After Sam got out of the hospital, sometimes the volunteerswould say “Golay down,” and they’d watch Sam for me. Also duringthat time there was a guy who helped me locate tires for mycar.
Is Sam OK now?
Nancy: Yeah. You can’t even tell he was there [in the hospital].
I know living at Alpha House wasn’t always easy.What was the hardest part about living there?
Nancy: Mostly the hard part was dealing withother families. Sometimes you have to listen to them arguewith each other, which bugged me. Thefood was good—at least most of it. I like really spicyfood, and the food there is tamer for kids. They had some reallygoodmeatloaf and pasta casserole. The kids loved it when therewas pizza.
How are you feeling about life in general now?
Nancy: Really good. I'm glad to be on my own. But I want to changeemployment and get a job that isn’t working midnightsand doesn’t have me on my feet eight hours a day, whichaggravates the problems I have with my feet.
So, what are your plans?
Nancy: I plan to go to a training programand I’m thinkingabout getting my CDL. It’s a license to drive a truck.I’d like a localtruck route. Or, I might get a job as a receptionist. Someof the staff at Alpha House and my boyfriend think I’mreally good with people. As soon as I get unpacked and getall my furniture, I’m having a party.
Who’s invited?
Nancy: Some of the staff and some of my new neighbors.
*Names of the family have been changed to respect their privacy.