WS Chronicle

By Tanisha Moreland

My name is Tanisha Moreland, and my family is homeless. We are currently residing in the Salvation Army’s Center of Hope.

We have a 12-year-old son who is our world. He is a very bright and sociable middle school student. You wouldn’t be able to tell we were homeless just by looking at us.

You’ve probably seen us in a store or maybe at church. My husband and I both have some college experience. I am a nurse, and my husband studied Computer Information Systems. I haven’t worked for four years due to a disability. My husband is totally blind, but loves working. We were evicted from our apartment because my husband’s salary did not cover all of our expenses, including increasing medical bills.

We had to sleep in our van for four nights, which was the scariest and most humbling experience. We moved from parking lot to parking lot hoping to not be asked to move by the police. We stayed with different friends after that and moved around between two cities.
Our son attended four middle schools before we left the state. My husband lost his job last September after his company changed their billing system, which wasn’t compatible with his screen-reading software.

We moved to North Carolina after researching the best places for employment opportunities for visually impaired people. We stayed with people again but things didn’t work out. We called all of the shelters within a 50-mile radius, but they were either full or wanted us to split up. We were determined to stay together as a family because that’s all we had.

We eventually connected with the Interactive Resource Center in Greensboro, which helped us with an address for mail, job references and social support. They also helped us get into the Salvation Army’s Center of Hope in Winston-Salem. We commuted between the two cities until it became too exhausting physically and mentally.

The Salvation Army provided our needed refuge. It was very difficult living with 80-plus other people. There were some longer-term residents, but most people left within two to three months. We arrived during the winter months to an unfamiliar cold. We were given three hot meals a day, a family room where we could stay together, and a Case Manager. Our Case Manager, Noemi Toro, has been the catalyst for emotional support, job leads and problem resolution. We are connected to various community resources, which are helping us find permanent housing. My husband is still unemployed, but is interviewing for jobs. Our son is very resilient and glad to be promoted to the seventh grade.

I am very thankful for the Center of Hope because that is exactly what they have given us.