Our social worker Susan has been working for Catholic Charities for over seven years. Her very first client was Martin. When she first met him, he was homeless and sleeping in the park. Over the next year she was able to get him into several different motels paid by a grant through Washoe County while working to find him permanent housing. His low social security income and past felonies disqualified him from most places. Susan was able to help him find a group home where he lived for several years, and with the Benefit Enrollment Center program ensured that he renewed his Medicaid and SNAP benefits each year and got transportation to medical appointments.
Last year we were able to find him an affordable apartment on the outskirts of downtown Reno, which is very convenient for him as his mobility has decreased. He loves his new home and was doing very well until last month when he got overdrawn and incurred late fees, so he wasn’t able to pay the full amount for his rent and received an eviction notice. Susan took him to the City of Reno to apply for emergency rental assistance, then forwarded his application to a supervisor there to expedite it before he got evicted, and they processed it and approved it within a few days and his rent was paid for both April and May. Martin has no living family and calls Susan several times a week, and he always expresses his extreme gratitude for all the assistance he has received from CCNN.
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