St. Vincent de Paul | Louisville

Felicia Davis, 39, has had a hard life, but she prefers to look on the bright side.

Formerly homeless, she has lived at SVDP's Roberts Hall, a permanent supportive housing program for women, including those with physical or mental disabilities, for about two years.

Originally from New York City, she moved to Kentucky a few years ago. But like so many people in this tough economy, she struggled to find a job that paid enough to make ends meet.

“I had some savings and stuff, but that kind of ran low. One thing led to another,” she says. Felicia was evicted from her apartment and ended up in a homeless shelter.

Despite temp jobs as a secretary and doing other administrative work, she struggled to get back on her feet financially. “I was carrying my bags from the (shelter) to work and then back,” she says. “They don’t let you leave your stuff there.”

Over the years, she’s also found herself living on the streets. How did she survive? Felicia takes a deep breath and looks upward. “The grace of God, that’s all I can tell you,” she says.

“I heard stories of women being assaulted. I’ve walked through dark neighborhoods. There were times I was hungry and cold and had all kinds of bedbugs and stuff like that. It’s a humbling experience.”

The grace of God was, indeed, with her at the Cathedral of the Assumption one day, when someone encouraged her to call St. Vincent de Paul. She has been a client ever since. It’s a place she considers a home.

“Now that I’m at Roberts Hall, it’s great. It was such a relief to put my bags down and unpack.”

Another blessing is that Roberts Hall is next door to a community center that offers computer courses. Felicia started attending and helping her classmates. Brad Castleberry, director of the MUSCL (Ministries United South Central Louisville) Senior Wellness Center at Schnitzelburg, was impressed with her computer expertise and easy camaraderie in tutoring others,  such as seniors intimidated by technology. So he offered to let her teach.

As a volunteer, she leads two classes, three days a week. This year she will teach computer classes at St. Vincent de Paul, too. One goal is to help clients create and post their resumes online, so they can find jobs.
“It’s about helping people. That’s how I fell in love with wanting to teach,” she says.

Clearly, the grace and stability she has found as a result of her move to Roberts Hall has empowered Felicia. “When you’ve been homeless, when you’ve been on the street … it’s nice to have a place to lay your head down and not have people belittling you,” she says.

This year, she is hoping to tutor adult education classes through Jefferson County Public Schools, and then apply to college.

But her dreams don’t stop there. “I want to take up business education,” she adds, confidently. “Eventually, I want to pick up corporate law.”

February Good Sam:  Feb2010.pdf