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
THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD
It’s raining and cold outside tonight. I’ve just been fed a hot and filling dinner and I’m sitting watching TV with my friends, thinking about where I would be right now if it wasn’t for a certain group of people. A group of people who took me in when I had nowhere else to go, who feed me, give me a warm, dry bed to sleep in and who work towards helping me get a job, save my money and plan a way for me to be self-sufficient again.
To people like me who, for one reason or another, find themselves without a place to stay, The Bartlett House has given me a foundation on which to plant my feet. I don’t need to worry about where I’ll be sleeping tonight and I don’t have to worry if I’ll eat today. The staff here have relieved me of those worries and have allowed me to focus on my priorities; saving enough money to get an apartment of my own and planning a way to never become homeless again.
Whenever a resident here “graduates” and moves into their own place, it’s a bittersweet moment. On the one hand, we are losing a friend, someone we’ve lived with, someone we’ve shared experiences with. On the other hand, we think, “He made it. He did it”. That is something we are all striving to do. We’ll say to the “graduate” as they are leaving, “Hope I never see your face around here again” and we will mean it sincerely.
On this cold and rainy night, my thoughts drift to my daughter who is in college and does not know her father is living in a homeless shelter. The sooner I get out of here, the sooner I can call her and honestly say, “I’m doing fine, honey.”
I also think about the other people, the “downstairs people” who only stay at The Bartlett House from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The rest of the time, they stay out on the streets, carrying their few belongings with t hem. How do they feel? What do they think? How do they survive? I don’t know, but I do know that I am comparatively much better off than they are and, for that, I’m extremely grateful. Maybe one day soon, they too will decide they want to move “upstairs”. I am blessed, fortunate and grateful.
There are others in our city who are homeless and don’t stay “upstairs” at The Bartlett House or “downstairs” either. Where do they stay at night? Where and what do they eat? Do they do their laundry like I do? How do you look for or keep a job under their circumstances? I don’t know. I do know that as I look out into this cold and rainy night, I know that if it wasn’t for the love shown everyday by the staff here at The Bartlett House, their effort and concern that there but for the grace of God would I go? And for that, I am extremely grateful.
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.