Bartlett house
Welcome to the Bartlett House website!
YOU CAN DO IT
I was a loving, caring, single mom trying to raise two kids in the projects. There were a lot of drugs and violence outside my door. I got involved in two relationships and they were both abusers, so when I became involved with a wealthy man, I thought my kids would have a chance at a better life. My self esteem wasn’t the greatest at the time, so I didn’t recognize that he was verbally abusive.
If it wasn’t for The Bartlett House, my children and I would still be in that situation. But now I have the chance to further my education and work. You just have to be willing to put a lot of work into it and you can do anything. If it wasn’t for The Bartlett House to come to, the verbal abuse would have become physical and my family would have become dysfunctional, maybe even dead.
So thank you Bartlett House. To all the single mom’s—you can do it. Don’t stay around and put up with any kind of abuse. You can make a life for yourself, by yourself.
WHERE YOU WIND UP
My wife and I met in the south, and wound up in Morgantown, WV. Before I met my wife, I was serving in the USMC and did two tours during the confrontation in the Middle East and West Africa. Shortly after we were married, we ran into a financial bind and found ourselves homeless and lost. We were fortunate to be directed to The Bartlett House to find shelter, food and guidance. If Bartlett House had not been available to us, we would have had to seek refuge on the streets. Our stay here has been a positive one; we have been treated fairly and given the opportunity to better ourselves. The shelter assistants have a caring nature and treat everyone as a human being. Our case manager gave us the opportunity to make the best of a bad situation. The Bartlett House Director is passing down her knowledge to the public that homeless people are human too. Our future plans are to go back to school and to complete my studies to get a B.S. in health care management so I can give back to the community. My wife would like to go to school to become a nurse. Homelessness sometimes is not an option. When you are no longer employed and miss two or three paychecks, have no family or friends, or too much pride—homeless is usually where you wind up.
JUNE 22 An attitude of Gratitude
YOU CAN DO ANYTHING
“We are telling our story so you can read about our success. We hope to help you understand about homeless people. Our message to you is if you find yourself homeless, you can do anything you set your mind to.”—Mr. and Mrs. Evans
Jim Evans was on his way to Ashland Kentucky to move in with his son. Upon his arrival to Ashland, he found that his son had relocated to Wisconsin. He found himself now homeless. He stayed at the Salvation Army in Kentucky. After talking to his sister, she directed him to a shelter in Huntington West Virginia. He ended up moving to the Huntington City Mission with his sister.
Christine Evans was released from serving a prison term and found herself on the streets of Charleston, West Virginia. Immediately on being released, she arranged to stay with a friend who was also a recently released inmate. They lived together for a few months and the arrangement did not work out. Christine started walking from Charleston with no destination in mind. She walked so much that she developed blisters on her feet. The police took her to the hospital and from there they arranged for her to stay at the Huntington City Mission.
While at the Huntington City Mission Jim and Christine Evans met each other and began to spend time with each other. They hit it off great and decided to begin a relationship. After 3 weeks at the mission, Jim decided he wanted to leave the mission. Although, he encouraged his then girlfriend to stay at the mission, she refused. She believed that they started this journey together and they were going to finish it together. They both left the mission together and that is when Jim proposed to Christine.
They slept in the woods for a few days and then caught a bus to Ashland Kentucky. Once they arrived in Kentucky, they found a wooded area where they slept for a few days. They began going to the Salvation Army and churches to eat. For a month they lived this rugged life. Jim and Christine met a church organization that wanted to help the homeless. Church members came to visit their camp in the woods. They expressed their desire to be married and the Church performed the marriage ceremony and paid for their marriage license.
The day they were married, Mr. and Mrs. Evans found out that Christine was expecting a child. Jim immediately went to work for the City of Ashland and the couple moved into the Salvation Army. They were permitted to stay for 30 days. Three weeks after they found out that they were expecting, they also found out that Christine’s father was sick, so they moved to West Union, WV and stayed with her uncle. Their baby was born on June 7, 2011. The next day after the baby was born, CPS removed the baby from their custody. Three weeks later they attended a court hearing and the judge told the Evans’ what they needed to do to get their baby back.
They made a few phone calls and that is when they found out about Bartlett House. Hours later they were on their way to Morgantown. Immediately after getting off the bus in Morgantown, they began looking for jobs and that evening checked into the Bartlett House. They both began working for a temporary cleaning agency. For three weeks they put in job applications. They both landed a job with Golden Corral Restaurant. Mr. Evans also took on another temporary position with the Marriott.
After a total of 8 weeks of their stay at Bartlett House, the Evans’ strictly followed program rules and were able to save enough money to get an apartment. Within the time they stayed at the Bartlett House, they managed to find 3 jobs and an apartment.
The final message the Evans’ would like to give to the community is: “When things look hopeless, if you put your mind to it, anything can turn around.”
ISN’T IT IRONIC
If you have ever visited The Bartlett House, you will be surprised at the plethora of people that you’ll come in contact with. Since being here, I’ve come across businessmen, electricians, carpenters, executive chefs and engineers, just to name a few. This new generation of displaced persons doesn’t resemble the picture that many of us have in our minds of the homeless.
For many of us, it all took to start the downward spiral was simply the loss of a job, divorce, or any number of traumatic experiences. For me it was a car accident that left me with a traumatic brain injury which led into deep depression, thoughts of suicide, and then action on those thoughts. If it were not for the grace of God and the dedicated staff at Ruby Memorial Hospital and Chestnut Ridge, I would not have found the Bartlett House.
The Bartlett House is a refuge for those of us that find ourselves with no resources and on the street. I have to admit that the enigma of a homeless shelter was less than appealing. My stereotype was like many others when it came to the homeless. Upon arriving at The Bartlett House, I was greeted by staff that welcomed me and quickly eased my fears. After filling out some short forms I was shown my room.
At first, some of the rules seemed petty and yet intrusive. Now I’ve come to realize that these rules are in place for our safety and protection. The staff truly cares for our best interests, but it also requires much effort on our part for the plan to become reality. I will be leaving here soon, happy but yet sad at the thought of leaving. Isn’t it ironic, that I fought against coming here and now I don’t want to leave?
I give special thanks to all of The Bartlett House Staff. All the tools are made available to us; it is our choice to put them to good use. Thanks for all you’ve done for all of us.
When I came to The Bartlett House, I thought it was the last stop for me because I couldn’t see that I could do anything. But everyone was so nice and helpful to me. The director was a really big influence on my life. She told me to always follow my good thoughts and that nothing was impossible. Every time I started to feel down, she told me that all things were possible and to keep trying. I got a job at the Friendship Room and everything started getting better. I was able to move out of the Bartlett House into my own apartment and then the director offered me a job at the shelter. I am a night staff assistant upstairs working with some of the people I lived with here. I know how to talk with them, and tell them not to give up. I can tell them that anything is possible. Thanks to the staff of The Bartlett House for the opportunity.
IN MY HOUSE
I came to The Bartlett House because I was moving from North Caroline to Morgantown to be closer to my oldest daughter, who was in Beckley, WV. So my husband, daughter and I caught a Greyhound Bus, and on the way lost $875.00 which was for somewhere to stay when we got here. We got stuck in Pittsburgh over night because we had no money, and the next morning a guy we met at the bus station gave us a ride to Morgantown. When we got here a friend brought us to Bartlett House. We met a lot of nice people. The staff is great. They have really helped us. My kids love them and they are very special to us. I now have both my daughters, a job, and am expecting to move into our own home in a couple of days. I have only been here about two months. By the end of the month I hope to succeed in getting my GED too, and a lot of other things.
My personal opinion is that I think The Bartlett House would help people a lot more if they had the funds to do so. They really care about the families and other residents who are here. They try their best to help everyone they can. My goal is to be in my own home by this week and have the furniture and things I need for my home. I would like to be in my house with my children and husband. These are great people at The Bartlett House.