Pulled back from the brink of eviction The crisis almost left her homeless. But Robin Hood’s partners were there.
2019 was a bad year for Vernaize Coleman.
The Coalition for the Homeless initially planned to give Coleman $1,000, but it was able to increase the grant. “Jerry saw that I was not giving up,” said Coleman. “He called one day, said ‘V, we’re going to give you $2,000.’ I was blown away. I was in tears.” The Coalition reached out on Coleman’s behalf to another Robin Hood community partner, The Bridge Fund of New York, who also provided Coleman with a grant and a loan. “I’m almost out of this financial nightmare,” said Coleman. “Just imagine someone who didn’t have my tenacity or wasn’t an advocate for themselves. If I advocate for my clients, I’m going to advocate for myself. I was persistent, and I was not going to give up.” Coleman continues to work full time from home and pays her rent in full every month. Her debt is almost erased. Thanks to the support of donors like you, Coleman persists. “I have learned so much in the last year,” she said. “I never felt sorry for myself. I survived.”
The 58-year-old moved to Harlem from Houston, Texas, but lost her job just after signing for a new apartment.
A slip-and-fall on an icy sidewalk followed, and then a devastating cancer diagnosis.
Coleman, a counselor with a master’s degree, was working full time through chemotherapy and radiation when her body gave out and she landed in the hospital for a month. Though she worked through her illness, she owed $10,400 in back rent, and her landlord began eviction proceedings. In March 2020, her cancer was in remis- sion and she was ready to pick up a new work schedule when COVID-19 shut down the city and her in-home social work job. That’s when the Coalition for the Homeless, an organization Robin Hood funds, stepped in. “That organization has stuck with me through some things,” Coleman says. “They have been the best. (My case manager) Jerry worked with me patiently, he made phone calls for me to other agencies I didn’t even know about.”
“ I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH IN THE LAST YEAR. I NEVER FELT SORRY FOR MYSELF. I SURVIVED.” — VERNAIZE COLEMAN
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