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For women who have experienced homelessness and are ready to rebuild their lives | |
"A refuge in time of trouble" | |
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JGH is filled, with a waiting list,
as it continues to answer a need
that the "homeless industry" cannot
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Julie:
A good woman, overwhelmed
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We all know what happened in 2020 - a maverick virus "locked down" all our lives.
Julie is one of the many who found her life and work completely disrupted. Despite being hardworking and having a good job, she found herself trapped by a series of circumstances.
Today, at the Julia Greeley Home, "I have time to get it together and make a plan."
Julie's life shows how quickly a seemingly strong support system can dissolve. She had a good job as a manufacturing inspector, trained to test building and foundations for structural weaknesses. She was government certified to work in various industries.
But the Covid era wiped out her job. Then, other problems began to accumulate. She was diagnosed with health problems, including a heart condition. A relationship didn't work out. In the stress of trying to manage those challenges and others, her apartment lease ended. But where to go? Rents were escalating.
"I was discouraged," she says. Julie went to a Denver shelter, hoping to have some time to work things out, "but it was a crazy place, a lot of people on drugs."
She went online to find a better housing option, but the basement apartment didn't feel safe. For her own well-being, it was best to leave.
Overwhelmed by long wait lists for housing, impossibly high rent demands, and the often chaotic homeless conditions on public streets, the safest place to be seemed to be her car.
In late summer this year, she was given a list of transitional housing in the Denver area. The Julia Greeley Home was there, "and it popped out at me."
Now that she's with us, Julie says, "It's peaceful, safe, and nice." She has a place of fellowship, good nutrition, and the time and opportunities to sort out her life, renew her confidence, and begin again.
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THANK YOU for filling a need for women like Julie, a need that goes beyond what publicly-funded homeless programs can do:
At JGH, you are supporting a private residence that has the freedom to honor a woman's God-given dignity and offer Christ-centered spiritual encouragement as she restores her life.
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We are a firewall against the drugs, crime and violence that women say they encounter in many public homeless
surroundings.
| Your support means everything! Please join us in this vital mission ... | Other ways to give, or reach us: | |
By mail:
Julia Greeley Home
3613 Wyandot St
Denver, CO 80211
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Our executive director:
Jean Torkelson
jtorkelson@juliagreeley
home.org
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Sheree:
A good woman, restored
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'So many wonderful things happened at JGH' | |
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Today, Sheree lives on a farm in North Carolina, visits her kids and grandkids, enjoys life with her husband of more than 40 years, and looks forward to retirement.
Life was so different six years ago.
Family stresses had ruptured relationships, and Sheree felt it wise to step back from the situation and regroup. But where to go? We all think "friends and family" must be the answer, but realistically, that isn't always the solution. It wasn't for Sheree. But still, the thought of an anonymous shelter for the homeless? Terrifying.
She found JGH from a list of transitional housing services. "I will never forget when I called the Julia Greeley Home. I had no idea what to do after so many years being married. I don't think I could have gone to a homeless shelter. It would have been horrifying at my age. What I really needed was healing, not adding to the trauma. So, to be in a peaceful quiet neighborhood, that felt like normal home."
To her surprise, JGH offered even more than she expected:
"So many wonderful things happened at Julia Greeley! I went to Bayaud Enterprises (the job placement company in Denver) and found a place that needed help. I made a lot of networking connections (at JGH), and we had bible studies and sharing scriptures together. So many wonderful things happened there."
But something else was pressing on her heart. Sheree had married young, and felt she never gave enough time to completing her education or developing long-term skills. Now, in middle age, how could she ever catch up if she needed to support herself?
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Unexpectedly, at the Julia Greeley Home, that unspoken prayer was answered, too. Sheree became our first scholarship recipient awarded by the Ward Family Foundation. A long standing dream, to become a health care professional, was within reach:
"It was incredible -- as much as anything it gave me a boost of confidence," she says. "I was terrified to go back to school. Even though I'm always reading and studying things, it was so long since I was in college -- add in all the computer stuff ! -- there was just no way ... but then I decided I had to say 'yes' and worry about it later ... so it was really amazing to see the A's roll in!"
Sheree completed virtually all the credits needed to become a licensed practical nurse. Then came new, unexpected blessings: a family healing, a new life in the Carolinas, and, this year, a 43rd wedding anniversary to celebrate in December.
"Julia Greeley gave me a quiet season to listen to my heart and what I need," Sheree says. "It was a clarifying time, and a soft place to land with caring people. When you're going through a rough time and confused, and don't know what to do, it's wonderful to be safe and have people around you who have your back."
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Years before he became a "Friend of Julia's,"
Dennis Mihm was a friend of our Founder, Fr. Regis
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Dennis Mihm,
recalling his lifelong friend:
"He was one of a kind"
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Father Regis Scanlon OFM Cap
1943-2021
"Pudgy"
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Out of the blue: We loved getting an unexpected email note from Dennis Mihm, a much-appreciated "Friend of Julia's," who wrote to us recently about his boyhood pal from school days, our much-loved founder, Father Regis -- or as Dennis knew him, "Pudgy."
Turns out the name stuck right from the cradle. Fr. Regis's brother and sister-in-law, Jerry and Connie Scanlon, say "Pudgy" was dubbed that by his father because he was "a chubby little baby."
From there, whole generations of friends and spiritual buddies came to know "Pudgy" Scanlon. This is a photo of him at a 74th birthday party thrown by some of his many friends (clearly no longer pudgy, but still ready to enjoy a good feast!)
With our deep thanks for the memory, here's the note from Dennis Mihm:
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"I’ve been thinking of Father Scanlon. As you know, we grew up together in West View, a Pittsburgh suburb, and attended St. Athanasius Church.
He was always getting into trouble (just little “kid” things), and my Mom told me to stay away from him — thinking that he would get me into trouble, too.
We were in his backyard one day — we were 9 or 10, I think — and I climbed a crab apple tree and fell out. I sliced both wrists on broken glass. His mother wrapped my wrists in kitchen towels, and called for an ambulance. She truly saved my life!
We would sneak under the fence at a nearby football field to watch the games for free, too. We had some good times as we grew up.
I still have trouble believing that he’s no longer with us. PUDGY will always be missed."
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Our Founder, Father Regis Scanlon ("Pudgy"), envisioned a respite from the harsh world, a place where a woman's God-given dignity was recognized and protected while she worked past the hardship of homelessness. | |
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Your support continues his mission ...
and we are deeply grateful for your help.
Thank you!
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"The Lord is a refuge in time of trouble ...
he will not forget the cry of the afflicted."
- Psalm 9: 9-10
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The Julia Greeley Home Inc. is a 501(c)(3) registered in Colorado
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