“I have been a part of A Community of Friends (ACOF) since April 2002 and during my years in their program, I have learned the meaning of “community” and what that means to me.

The word community to me means: independence, stability, positive self-care, friendship, social contact, positive support, and appreciation. I have learned independence since I have been housed at ACOF, because no one else is responsible for me, but me. I am responsible for my health, housing and bills. Stability means, I have a home to go to every day and no one determines my housing, but me. Having stable housing has helped my self-care. I now have the luxury to worry about myself rather than where I will spend the night.

In the 17 years that I have been at ACOF, I have met many tenants that have become family. We take care of one another and I have not experienced that in a while. The case manager at ACOF ‘provides’ positive support and is someone I can vent to, and someone that I know will advocate for me. Every day I look forward to seeing my case manager, she helps me raise my spirits when I am feeling down. I do not take my time for granted with A Community of Friends and every day I am grateful for what I have. This is exactly why the word community means all these things to me.”