Patricia’s Next Chapter: A Home of Her Own

“I was the new kid on the block, I guess you could say,” Patricia said with a smile.

Homelessness wasn’t new to Patricia. She and her mother had been in and out of housing since she was 30 years old. But after her mother passed away in 2020, Patricia was left to navigate it all on her own. Now 56, she’s been doing just that for the past two years.

High rent, transportation struggles, and health issues all played a role in Patricia’s situation. She never got a driver’s license, and while she and her mother had a car, it wasn’t reliable. “The rent was too high where we were at, even though we tried to make it work,” she explained.

She had tried to buy a home, but it was foreclosed. Then, she nearly bought a mobile home, but just one year away from securing it, she became homeless. For a while, a church in Choctaw put Patricia and her mom up in a hotel with an apartment-like setup, covering all their expenses. “They paid for everything, and five months later, we got into Hope Harbor in Choctaw and stayed there for four years.”

Her mother retired from an organization where Patricia also worked as a custodian. After retirement, Patricia took care of her mom, walking everywhere to pick up medications, arranging home health visits, and making sure she was cared for. In 2020, when her mom passed away, Patricia tried to keep their housing situation afloat on her own. She was still working as a janitor but struggled to afford rent without any additional support. By 2022, she left her job and found herself with nowhere to go.

Through it all, she kept going. Kept working. Kept believing things would turn around. And now, they finally are.

At Sanctuary, Patricia found more than just a place to take a shower and do laundry—she found a support system. Sanctuary helped her obtain her birth certificate and apply for social security benefits. On February 26, she officially received SSDI and got her bank account set up. Now, she’s waiting to hear if she’ll get an apartment near City Care. She’s hoping for a one-bedroom, but an efficiency would be fine, too—just as long as it’s home.

When asked what she’s looking forward to, Patricia didn’t hesitate: “I want to enjoy my home. Maybe get married. Or maybe go back home to Michigan.” She originally moved to Oklahoma in 1987, right after high school, following her mom back to her home state after her parents divorced.

For now, though, Patricia is focused on the present. She takes comfort in the silver cross with gemstones she wears around her neck—a reminder of her mother’s love. She leans on her faith, strengthened by a friend at City Care who leads a Bible study. She listens to music on her headphones at Sanctuary, something she’s not allowed to do at City Care while others are sleeping, and enjoys everything from ‘80s jams to Christian rock.

And, she encourages the women around her. “I want people to keep their chins up and keep a positive attitude about it. Even though they’re going through this trial right now, to me, it’s like the beginning of a race.”

The newly rebuilt Sanctuary is more than just a shelter—it’s a space designed to restore dignity, hope, and a sense of home. When Patricia first walked in, she was struck by its warmth and beauty. “Well, this building is beautiful. That’s what got me starting to think about how I can decorate my new home. The kitchen area here inspired me even more and made me think about ways to set up my kitchen.”

That’s exactly the goal of Sanctuary—to be a place where women can meet their needs and start envisioning a future beyond homelessness. For Patricia, that future is finally within reach.

She’s ready. Ready to leave the night shelter behind. Ready to stop bouncing from place to place. Ready to finally have a place of her own again. 

“There are good and bad things in my life, and I don’t want to talk about the bad. I want to talk about the good. This is good right here, right now.”

And for the first time in a long time, the future looks pretty good, too.