EMPTY STOCKING FUND: 'We're the silent homeless'

Annie fell apart when her husband of 10 years left and she ended up living on the streets for much of the past year.

"It was a total surprise when he left, and I lost it," she said.

They were behind on rent when he left, so Annie was evicted within a few weeks and didn't have anywhere to go. Annie, who has several college degrees, is on disability, unable to work, and on a fixed income of $230 a month.

"It's been a really rough road," she said. "The first time I had to ask someone for money on the streets because I was hungry, I went off on my own and cried and cried. A woman over 50 living on the streets can become everyone's victim because anybody can take something away from us."

She did what she had to do to survive, she said, including living with a drug dealer and taking care of his daughter so she'd have a warm place to stay. That only lasted three weeks before she couldn't do it anymore.

The place that saved her, she said, was Pikes Peak Community Action Agency's Billie Spielman Center.

"I walked in there in tears and told them I was totally lost and that I need help. Barbara (a counselor) told me to sit down and that she'd help," Annie said.

The agency helped her with food, paid for a prescription medication, helped her with Social Security paperwork, took her to and from some appointments and more.

"They helped me emotionally and physically," Annie said. "They helped me in every way possible. I don't even think I can tell you all of the ways they helped me because I don't even think I realize yet all the ways they've helped me. I can't sing them enough praises."

Pikes Peak Community Action Agency is one of 14 local charities that receives donations from The Gazette/El Pomar Foundation Empty Stocking Fund.

Annie recently moved into an apartment through another agency where rent is one-third of her fixed income, and her counselor from the Billie Spielman Center was there to help when she got the apartment.

"When I moved in, all I had was my backpack, purse and my dog," Annie said. "Barbara came over with blankets, dishes, a pan. She went beyond her duty and sometimes even took food out of her own cupboard to feed me. I don't think I would've made it this past year without the Billie Spielman Center and Barbara."

Annie hopes to one day open a shelter for women 50 and older.

‘We're the silent homeless," she said. "You pass by so many of us each day and don't even know it."

TO DONATE

Make a secure donation at fillanemptystocking.org. Call 476-1673 to make a credit card or stock donation over the phone. Checks can be made payable to the Empty Stocking Fund and mailed to P.O. Box 400, Colorado Springs, CO 80901.