Kim was nervous when she first arrived at the Haven’s Hixon House Adult Shelter.
“I had procrastinated. I was scared—very scared,” she said. “I ended up homeless for the first time in my life.”
Like many in Vermont, Kim had been living on a fixed income and struggling to keep up with rising costs, while also managing substance misuse, mental health challenges, and living with HIV. “My rent kept going up $100 every month, and I live on Social Security and food stamps. I had nowhere to go.”
After an earlier visit to the Haven didn’t lead to a stay, she eventually decided to give the adult shelter a chance. Becky, Adult Programs Supervisor at the Haven, encouraged Kim to make the move. “I called Becky up, and she said, ‘we’re going to help get you down here.’”
With help from her mental health counselor, Kim packed up and came to stay at Hixon, where she remained for nearly a year.
“I moved into the Hixon House and made myself active there. I was the plant girl… I cooked for them. I did a lot of things to help out. I was always there for the staff. I was kind of their backup,” Kim said with a small laugh.
The Haven team became an important part of her life. “I have to say, the support and love [at the shelter], it just made me cry to see the compassion that we all received. I got a lot from them.”
With the help of the Haven and the A Way Home supportive housing program funded through the Vermont State Housing Authority, Kim was matched with a rent-subsidized apartment through Twin Pines Housing—and a new Haven Supportive Housing Service Coordinator, Sonya.
“I met Sonya, who’s been working with me through the Haven, and now she’s helping me with everything. She helps me with paperwork, getting to appointments that are very important. Emotionally, she’s there for me. She’s very supportive through all I’ve been through.”
“From the beginning, Kim brought honesty, humor, and heart,” said Sonya. “We worked together to navigate all the paperwork, frustrations, and fears, but more than anything, we built a connection rooted in trust—and a heck of a lot of laughter.”
Today, Kim lives in her own apartment, filled with houseplants and a sense of peace. “Look at my beautiful home,” she said. “You look good, you feel good. It changed my whole life.”
“When I got the keys—I cried. I fell to my knees. I thought I’d never see it happen… I have a place to call home today. And if it wasn’t for the Haven and that program, I wouldn’t have anything.”
She’s now looking ahead to what’s next: “As I’m starting to feel better, [I’m] looking to get a job, hopefully at Hixon House. This program is giving me the energy to want to do good things and help people in a positive way. I try to give back what was given to me.”
But Kim knows that others are still struggling. “It hurts, because I know there’s still people out there sick and suffering… I want it all to change. I want everybody to have a home.”
On this Homelessness Awareness Day, her words reflect both the reality and the hope behind the numbers. At least 333 people in the Upper Valley are experiencing homelessness today—including 73 children and 26 older adults. Across Vermont, nearly 5,000 people are without homes, while emergency shelters like the Haven’s are full nearly every night of the year.
Many others—those with pets, disabilities, or complex needs—may not qualify for existing programs or simply run out of time in the systems meant to support them. Kim’s story is not the norm—it’s the outcome of dedicated staff, well-coordinated housing programs, and a space at the table just when she needed it.
“We have the power and the responsibility to ensure that everyone has a safe and appropriate place to call home,” advocates say across Vermont today. But it will take more than goodwill. It requires public investment, expanded shelter capacity, sustained supportive services, and housing that people can actually afford.
Kim’s story is a success, but she knows how close it came to going another way. “If I had needed to leave the Hixon House and get a tent and get a sleeping bag… I would have died out there. I know that.”
We owe it to the hundreds who weren’t so lucky—to listen, to act, and to demand better.
